Rock & Roll? I Think Not...

Currently Listening To: Emiliana Torrini - White Rabbit (Sucker Punch OST)

I seem to be disagreeing with a lot of the reviewers tonight? I normally don't fancy Lauren that much, but didn't think she did that badly this time O.o

Anyway, welcome to another night of American Idol.

The theme was 'Rock & Roll Hall of Fame', but sadly the night wasn't rock & roll for me at all. In fact, I think this is my least favourite night so far mostly because I did not like the song choices made by the contestants.

Lemme start with...

Jacob. I think this is unanimous. He was the first to perform, and the worse too. Dull song, and I'm pretty sure he missed most of the notes he was suppose to sing. On top of that, he was being an arrogant brat. I mean, I get it he's singing 'Man in the Mirror', but to actually say what he said in his introductory video? Just. Bad move. He's better than Paul vocally, but right now I wouldn't mind if he goes as long as it's a guy.

Stefano never recovered from his fall from grace...he has been mostly -sucking- for the past few weeks and I don't think he's ready to take any risks whatsoever to keep his ass in the competition. Another lacklustre ballad from the former frontrunner. It's not gonna do him any favours, honestly. Right now I'm just waiting for America to get tired of keeping him IN the competition...

I was really hoping for Haley to rock this night but she did not. Rock the night I mean. Sure it wasn't that bad, and I liked the song choice. Unfortunately she was shouting her way through the song. A bit harsh on the ears...my mum was complaining about her in fact, so...yeah. I'm sure the studio version will be awesome though. She always sounds good in the recorded versions.

As for Lauren...well, when I first watched her performance, I liked it and I thought it was one of the better performances tonight. Then I saw some other reviews and re-watched it...and then I kinda got what they meant by lack of emotion. It's true, the girl has bad taste in songs and 'Natural Woman' is probably the last song she should have chosen this week...cos she sure wasn't a natural on stage. The song is just way too old for her. And what about her outfit? It made her look like a 40-year-old hooker and she's SIXTEEN for heaven's sake. From what i heard, Gwen Stefani styled the contestants this week. What was Gwen thinking? She needs to stay away from their wardrobe.

Casey delivered another solid but rather safe performance. It's nice to see him with that upright bass again. Somehow it makes him more complete. Less growling, more singing and no weird antics. Plus, he just seems like a really nice guy. I'll never forget his face when he was almost eliminated two weeks ago...that was genuine emotion and my heart really went out to him then.

Paul on the other hand, chose an interesting song and more or less rocked out (darn it! He was my pick for elimination) the idol stage. However, I can't help but sigh when I hear him sing. Dude just doesn't have much of a voice. It's a bit frustrating.

I don't know about Pia but um 'River Deep, Mountain High' is not exactly the most upbeat song ever. Seriously, it's better than those boring ballads she has been singing for the past 5 weeks or so, but really it is not as funky as she thinks. Let's face it...Pia is amazing but she is also EXTREMELY boring. Also, for the first time in the competition, her vocals for this song wasn't perfect. Not a good thing if she's gonna falter when she sings songs that aren't ballads...and J.Lo is right, Pia needs to work the stage. She's being called a 'pageant queen robot' and that's not good.

James and Scotty, I can't decide who was better. In fact I didn't think they were that great or memorable either but at least they were more interesting than the others. James finally did something other than a full-on rock song and Scotty was Elvis, and he sounded convincing! I was actually impressed with Scotty's voice (not the performance - now that was cheesy).

I have a problem with James' voice though. There's just something about the quality of his voice. At first listen, you'd think about comparing him with Adam. When you really listen to him sing (not scream) though...his voice comes off as a bit weak and thin, sadly. Not quite like Adam after all. Listen to his studio recordings and you'll notice it too. Without the noise, he just isn't that great so...I don't know. Can't seem to get into him. Well at least he's enjoying himself eh?

We're moving on to the Top 8 and I still don't have a clear favourite at this point. I'm inclined to Haley or Pia, but both girls have very glaring flaws as well. It's hard for me to decide...I don't fancy any of the other contestants. They're all quite good but uh, nobody is trying anything different. No David Cooks, no Adam Lamberts/Kris Allens, not even a Lee Dewyze (mediocre, fairly unknown, but surprisingly popular).

I can just sum it up five words: I DON'T CARE WHO WINS as long as it's not Paul or Jacob. Seriously.


Listen to this for a much better version of Natural Woman.