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!

Bo Bice, "Stand By Me"

Randy - "You pick the right song for you, you know exactly who you are, I know exactly what kind of record you should make... great job dude!"

Paula - It’s great to pick a song everyone young and old knows... its seems silly to critique, I just enjoy you."

Simon - "They said it all, you picked the best song tonight."

Sting7 - Wow. That was as strong a vocal performance Bo has ever done. I’m with Paula, what can you say? Brilliant!

Carrie Underwood, "Trouble"

Randy - "Same thing I said to Bo applies to you as well... that was a great song choice, and you sung it!"

Paula - "It was so much fun to see a different side of you, it was my favorite performance of yours, you’re a star!"

Simon - "The point at this stage of the competition is to give your fans what they want and that is exactly what they wanted tonight. Terrific."

Sting7 - Nice! That was fun! I think that may replace "Alone" as my favorite Idol performance from Carrie. Loved the rasp she used for "I’m evil!" No complaints, I have nothing else to say!

Anthony Fedorov, "Incomplete"

Randy - "I was excited that everyone was going to be doing current songs... it was really five out of ten compared to the Backstreet Boys."

Paula - "I think it’s tough to do a song that was performed by a group... I think you are suited for these types of songs, there were some off notes but I think overall you did a good job."

Simon - "After an absolutely disastrous start, I think you would have been in real trouble, I think you absolutely chose the right song, I think you did that very well."

Sting7 - What’s wrong with Randy? I was listening for some off notes, there were NONE. Anthony took some melodic licenses, and there is nothing wrong with that. I expected Simon to roast him for picking a boy bands song, but Simon is okay with them, isn’t he? I thought Anthony did a wonderful job.

Hey, that's Angela Peele from season one in a Coke commercial! Angela made it to the round of eights and had a gorgeous voice what I remember. She sounds pretty good in the Coke commercial (featuring some sort of singing competition, where one of the "Coke employees" says "this one girl had a pretty good voice!"), too. I thought it was too bad she didn't advance, even then, and I said so!

Okay, I'm done patting myself on the back. Shoulder hurts now.

Scott Savol, "Every Time You Go Away"

Randy - "You did it again, man, you did it again... I was thinking Brian McKnight – that syncopated chorus, but you pulled it out man! You did it again!"

Paula - "I have had so much joy, watching your joy tonight... this has been your best night Scott!"

Simon - (Scott says he had to do it for Simon, because he’s not going home!) "You were more flat than you were in tune on that song. You were much better on the first song."

Sting7 - I really like how Scott is making light of all this. It’s like a stress reliever Idol needed! You can take things too seriously, really. Vocally, I liked him. It’s a challenging song to deliver with Scott’s kind of vibrato, but he found the places to make it shine. I would not be all that surprised if he does come back next week!

Vonzell Solomon, "When You Tell Me That You Love Me"

Randy - (standing ovation) "One of the first times I stood up this season... that is a perfect vocal, unbelievable."

Paula - "We’ve only heard that song with all of the Idols singing it... hearing one voice, your voice, it was beautiful, I loved the song."

Simon - "It wasn’t a perfect vocal and I think all of your fans will have to get on the phones. I think you are vulnerable, because I think you’ve had a very off night tonight."

Sting7 - Cheeky thing! Choosing the Idol single as her current song! Put me somewhere in between Randy and Simon, but more toward Randy because Vonzell did a bit of a juggling act toward the middle, where some of those notes weren’t what she intended, but she bended them to an acceptable place! So, it wasn’t perfect, but still sonically gorgeous. As I write this, I can still hear it in my head, and that tells me it was right. That part with the reaching chord change, made the hair on my forearms stand right up. That’s a good thing.

Bo Bice, "Heaven"

Randy - "You know you’ll always be in the dog pound, tonight you’re the captain of the dogpound baby!"

Paula - "You look fantastic, you sound fantastic, tonight you rule."

Simon - "You’ve had a good night tonight, actually, because you are looking and acting like the real thing. I think tonight you are making some of the other singers look like amateurs."

Sting7 - Another solo performer doing a group’s song, and I think this one was touchier than Anthony’s performance. Good, solid, a few gaffs that I heard. I think Bo overmuscled it overall. Not as in love with the judges though.

Carrie Underwood, "Bless the Broken Road"

Randy - "Another great perfect vocal performance from you... it was hot."

Paula - "When I hear you sing, you sing eloquent – beautifully."

Simon - "Very good, other than the fact that you performed it a little robotically, you sang it beautifully."

Sting7 - Simon has finally said it. The only knock I have heard about Carrie is that she is a little robotic on stage, but that will change with time. It’s an amateur competition, you have to expect that somewhat. I was bored by the song, not a country fan especially, but she sang it well. Can’t take that from her.

So, there we have it! An interesting night of performances. The current songs seemed to feature ballads, all the Idols are trying to showcase their vocals. Smart of them. How did they did do?

Here’s how the scoring for the first round should go:

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

Here how the voting for the second round should go:

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

Yeah, I said it!

And, here’s how I think the voting will go tomorrow:

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

I love his confidence, his heart, his passion, he believes in what he’s doing and he’s staying true to himself. But, I think the Constantine backlash (which has nothing to do with him) will bite Scott in the butt tomorrow night.

Am I right? Let’s find out tomorrow – the day Idol presumably takes one in the jaw.

Sting7 has been a respected published writer for 16 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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