Thoughts and musings of Peter Kupfer

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  • Tag Archives American Idol

  • American Idol — Top 2

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    After taking a few weeks off, it is time for the finale. I still feel that James Durbin should have been in the finale, but these two are great. What is really great about Scotty and Lauren specifically is how much they have grown and changed over the season. It may be a product of their age or because they had Jimmy Iovine as a consistent mentor (which I think was a great move by Idol), but they have progressed more during the season than any other contestants I can think of. I never would have imagined Scotty with the confidence to pull off Gone during these or season or Lauren having the confidence to control the stage as well as she does.

    My initial thought coming in to the night is that Lauren should win because she is a better singer than Scotty. Now, it is difficult to compare an male vs. a female singer, but I will would rank Lauren above Scotty. That is a not a knock on Scotty, but rather praise of Lauren.

    Scotty McCreery — Gone
    Phenomenal! The first week he sang this song I think it solidified his role as a serious contender. Up until then he was a kid who could sing George Strait type songs really well. But, singing Montgomery Gentry’s Gone showed a whole new side to his talent. His encore of the performance was just as good if not better.

    Lauren Alaina — Flat on the Floor
    Great job! She was moving and jamming on the stage and belting out the vocals. The confidence in her growing throughout the season really comes out in this performance. It was a great performance, I would rank Scotty’s higher, but, again, not as a knock on Lauren but as a compliment to Scotty.

    Scotty McCreery — Check Yes or No
    Great song choice and great performance by Scotty. It reminds of the Are You Gonna Kiss Me or Not he sang earlier. He really is a great story teller as Jennifer Lopez says.

    Lauren Alaina — Maybe It Was Memphis
    This song highlights what I was trying to say earlier. When a female vocalist nails a song it is almost always going to better than a male. Lauren sings the snot out of this song and shows how talented she is. I don’t know if Ryan was over blowing the vocal cord problem, but it is hard to tell. If she is performing with only one vocal cord here, then I can’t wait until she has two.

    Scotty McCreery — Love You This Big
    Scotty looked very classy and made the least number of annoying facial expressions to date. This song was good for him and it will do well. He is going to a young entering a large field of talented male country artists and so he needs to stick to younger themed songs like this if he is going to be successful. I just don’t think he is quite strong enough to beat Lauren.

    Lauren Alaina — Like My Mother Does
    This song reminds me of something Taylor Swift would sing which is always a good thing in my book. Lauren nails this song and, if this were a strictly talent competition, nailed the title. The confidence to stare your mother in the eye and sing those wonderful things, wow, that takes poise. (Not to mention making it up and down those stairs.) While I don’t think Lauren is done improving, she is pretty far along and she will be a major contender as she matures as grows.

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  • American Idol Top 7

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    Scotty McCreery -
    This was probably Scott’s best performance to date. I love how he work the stage horizontally and vertically. He showed his personality and I liked it. (Except of course for his facial expressions, he’s almost doing it on purpose now.)

    I don’t know what Jennifer and Randy’s problem is. They blast good performances and praise bad ones (like the opening number.) As much as I praise artists stretching themselves, Scotty did in this case. He doesn’t often sing the upbeat moving around songs like that. This was a stretch for him and he did bring it. Ugh!

    James Durbin
    Great performance. He is the best contestant right now, but the question is can a rocker win?

    Why don’t the judges blast James for staying in the same genre? GKup thinks it is because the judges have a bias against country. Perhaps.

    Hailey Reinert
    Nice performance by Hailey. I didn’t care for the song myself so it was a little boring at times, but ever since she picked a style, she has gotten a lot better. Time tell if she has the votes. GKup say she looks like Minnie Mouse, ha!

    Jacob Lusk
    Decent performance from Jacob. He may have peeked a few weeks ago and is now playing it safe to stick around. I would have to agree though, he is a diva. (There was something wrong with the track. Suck it up.)

    Casey Abrams
    Wow, Casey is back with a vengeance. Casey showed what a great artist he was and showed why I had thought he was so great since the auditions. More importantly, perhaps, Casey showed that he could be musically relevant in today’s market, and kept his grunt. At this point, it is a race between James and Casey.

    Stefano Langone
    Stefano gave one of his weakest performances of the season. I am not sure what Randy heard, but that was bordering on bad karaoke without a doubt. He was hoping to rely on one long note at the end and his weak range failed him. I can’t tell if the judges are just trying to spare his feelings, or if I just don’t get it. How does Stefano get props and Scotty gets nothing?

    Lauren Alaina
    Great job by Alaina. She did seem to ignore the crowd and get into the song. She was jumping and dancing on stage and really getting into the song. I have been saying for a while that she could win if she got over her age and got comfortable and it is starting to happen.

    That was perhaps the most useful critique from the judges all season. I especially like Steven’s idea of Lauren singing Allison Krause.

    Tonight’s Ranking
    James
    Casey
    Lauren
    Scotty
    Hailey
    Jacob
    Stefano

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  • American Idol Power Rankings — April 14th, 2011

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    Decent night for the singers. Another poor night for the judges.

    These aren’t necessarily predictions, but rather my opinion of what should happen. I’m pretty confident about the top 4 guys and fairly confident Lauren won’t be eliminated, but the other three I don’t know. A lot of it depends on how whoever was voting for Pia decides to go. (Assuming they keep voting.) Usually at this point in the season we still have a couple of ballad blasting females with Pia was really the only one, so it is anyone’s guess where those votes are going to go.

    1. 1. James Durbin (1) — Another great performance from a guy who knows how to perform. There is a lot of parody in the field, but James stands out with weekly consistency at a high level.
    2. 2. Casey Abrams (3) — Casey is a great artist with a charismatic personality. I will be interested to see what kind of commercial success he will have.
    3. 3. Jacob Lust (4) — One of his best performances to date. It was calm and showed off his range.
    4. 4. Scotty McCreery (5) — Nice change of pace. Scotty is like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, you always know what you are going to get, and you always like it, but it isn’t as good as a nice steak.
    5. 5. Lauren Alaina (6)– Another solid performance from her. She may have hit her ceiling because of her youth and inexperience but she may have a few surprises left.
    6. 8. Haley Reinhart (9) — She has figured out who she wants to be, and it shows. This was one of her best performances and if she keeps growing she could upset one of the guys.
    7. 7. Stefano Langone (8) — Good performer, not a strong enough singer.
    8. 6. Paul McDonald (7) —He has hit his ceiling. He has had a few niche little performances along the way, but he is not going to be the winner of this show. That is not say he won’t sell some records, but his time should be over.
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  • American Idol Top 8

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    It will be interesting to see if the judges say anything critical after last weeks love fest. There was not a single critical comment last week, except for a few constructive comments for Pia. I don’t even Jennifer and Steven don’t know enough about music to be critical because they can just do it, or if they choose to not be critical. The judges need to realize that when they are not critical, (when it is appropriate) that they are not helping the contestants get better. The contestants this year are not that much better this season to be above constructive criticism as opposed to the gushing praise for all show we had last week.

    Paul McDonald — Old Time Rock and Roll
    This song was wedding singer quality at best. He digressed from any level of quality he had raised himself up to over the past few weeks. the judges can talk about letting go and his abandon all they want, but I would like to see him pull that in and actually sing the song. He was starting to grow on me, but he lost me with this performance.

    Lauren Alaina — The Climb
    Lauren sings the song the way it should have been sung in the first place. She was poised, confident, and belted out the vocals. I grow continually frustrated with her refusal to move on stage. I agree with the producer guy that she definitely could steal some of those Pia votes. She is growing and doing well, but she needs to keep pushing herself. The judges comments aren’t helping her push herself, so hopefully she is finding that internal motivation to grow.

    Stefano Langone — End of the Road
    Stefano is becoming one of the best story telling singers on the show, but sadly he can’t back up with stellar vocals. He has this tiny little range of notes he can sing and he can’t nail the big notes. He puts the effort in and he can perform the songs, so I feel bad for being critical, but he just doesn’t have the talent the other singers have. I agree with Randy Jackson that they may be Stefano’s best vocal, but it is still not good enough, and I don’t think he can physically do any better.

    Scotty McCreery — I Cross My Heart
    Good performance by Scotty. I liked a slow song from him and he sang it well. Not much more to say other than that he needs to remember what the TMZ guys says and work on his facial expressions.

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    Casey Abrams — Nature Boy
    I didn’t get Casey’s performance. Gina says she would like to listen to it in a coffee house, but this is not Coffee Shop Idol, this is American Idol! I like Casey, and he sang it well, but it wasn’t really for me. I guess it could go on a jazz type album like Randy says, but I don’t know if everyone is going to get it.

    Haley Reinhart — Call Me
    Good performance by Haley. I would agree with her that she is growing as a performer. This is one of her best performances thus far and she is settling into a style of rocker girl type singer and it is working for her. This performance should be good enough to keep her out of the bottom 3 and get another chance to shine. Gina says that the boots along should get her some votes.  So, now Randy is going to criticize her performance, but praise Paul? It’s like they just jump on the band wagon, once one of them says something negative, they all follow along.

    Jacob Lusk — Bridge Over Troubled Water
    Jacob is taking on a song that Clay Aiken ruled with and it is an interesting choice. This is one of Jacob’s most seriously and believable performances to date. He did an excellent job showing off his vocal abilities and his ability to emotionally connect with the audience. It sounded a lot like he was singing in a church choir at times, but this came out a lot better than I expected. I’m still not sure if I could hear him on the radio, but that was a good performance.

    James Durbin — Heavy Metal
    James rocked the house again. I don’t know if a rocker can win this show, but he could be the first. Not much more to say, he is really good.

    Ranking of Tonight’s Performances

    1 – James Durbin
    2 – Haley Reinhart
    3 – Scotty McCreery
    4 – Casey Abrams
    5 – Lauren Alaina
    6 – Jacob Lusk
    7 – Stefano Langone
    8 – Paul McDonald

     

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  • Pia Tuscone & Katharine McPhee: Personality Trumps Talent

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    While I wouldn’t have predicted that Pia Tuscone would have been eliminated from American Idol tonight, I’m not as surprised as others. I’ve been saying for weeks that her talent is not going to be enough to carry her throughout the competition, that she needed to work on being more personable. She has this aloof attitude that doesn’t win votes. Just look at Wednesday’s performance, she walked up to the center of the stage and I thought she was going to be different this week. But, then she just stood there and sang for a while. She then finally walks off the stage, but serenades the judges who no longer have a say. She finally sings to the crowd at the end.

    A similar fate befell Katharine McPhee when she lost to Taylor Hicks. I like Katharine and she was a better vocal performer than Taylor, but she did not possess the same showmanship that Taylor did and ultimately that cost her.

    After watching Constantine Maroulis’s odd and sub-par performance tonight I was reminded that he too wasn’t the most talented singer, but his personality and stage presence carried him to 6th in season 4 of American Idol. Paul McDonald, and Stefano Langone to a lesser extent, this season is another example of performer out lasting better vocalists.

    I find it odd that Jennifer Lopez was the most upset about the elimination. It makes me wonder if she is another aloof performer and they can relate to each other.

    To her credit, I must say that Pia took the news like a pro. She definitely didn’t deserve to go at this point, it seemed like she wanted to do better and grow and perhaps she would have. We will just have to wait and see.

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  • American Idol Power Rankings — April 7th, 2011

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    After correctly predicting last weeks two eliminating contestants I’m going for two weeks in a row. With Naima gone, I can honestly say there are no more bad contestants left, just different levels of quality. Honestly, I’m really lost tonight as there were no big bombs last night. I think between the top 4 it is a toss up at this point. I give James the edge because he knows who he is and is extremely talented and that really helps down the home stretch.

    1. 1. James Durbin (4) — Like I wrote above, I give James the edge here because he knows what kind of artist he wants to be and he is able to focus on refining his craft. He has consistently great performances and even this week when he took a different approach to the song, he still delivered and showed a new side to his artistry.
    2. 2. Pia Toscano (3) — She made an attempt at singing an upbeat ballad and delivered. She really wants to sing ballads and doesn’t seem to want to “lower” herself to singing fast songs. That would maybe be enough if she engaged the audience more and was true star. I really wished she would interact with the crowd more by moving right and left on the stage. But, she has two things going for her: she has a great voice and is very attractive.
    3. 3. Casey Abrams (1) — Casey is a great artist, but he has changed since he was almost eliminated. He is taking it safer and trying to be popular. I can’t blame him, since he doesn’t want to get eliminated. I hope he finds a happy balance as it comes down to crunch time.
    4. 4. Jacob Lust (2) — I don’t understand the love fest with Jacob. He has a big range, but doesn’t seem to be able to hone it in and sing seriously. He is a getting a little cocky, and I am starting to not like him.
    5. 5. Scotty McCreery (7) — Good singer and it was a nice to see him try something new, but he is still in a slightly different category than the other four. He needs to work out some of his facial expressions.
    6. 6. Lauren Alaina (5)– I really like her and think she has tremendous potential. She still looks her age when she sings and looks a little scared and nervous on stage. As she progresses I hope that wear off.
    7. 7. Paul McDonald (9) —Great performance this week and he is growing on me. I think he has a place in the music world, but in terms of this contest, he is not one of the best singers.
    8. 8. Stefano Langone (6) — He has had a lot of good performances of late, but he just doesn’t have a strong enough voice to pull off some of the more aggressive songs. Other seasons he might have been in the top 5, but not this year.
    9. 9. Haley Reinhart (8) — I think she have finally figured out who she is as a singer, but it may be too late. She is talented, but not as talented as the rest.
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  • American Idol Top Nine — April 6th, 2011

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    Here we go with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame week. The correct two got eliminated last week so now we will have to see how the contestants progress and see if they challenge themselves and grow or just play it safe.

    Jacob Lusk — Man in the Mirror
    Jacob’s little comment that if I’m in the bottom 3 it is because America isn’t ready to look in the mirror really turned me off. This was a good performance. I don’t have the love for Jacob that the judges do. Randy specifically told him to pick a point in the song to show his whole range, and he didn’t. But does Randy call him on it? No, he says, “You did exactly what I said.” We need some more critical judges, not just yes men.

    Haley Reinhart — Take a Little Piece of My Heart
    Haley does a great job paying to tribute to Janice Joplin. Unfortunately, I’m not sure I know who Haley is at all. Every week she is different and doesn’t have her own identity. This week she is just doing what she thinks the judges want. I think she absolutely nailed this song, so maybe this is who she should be, but time will tell.

    Casey Abrams — Have You Ever Seen the Rain
    Great vocal performance by Casey. I’m not sure how I feel about his smiling through the whole thing, it comes off almost as a little creepy. He still got his little growls in there for some vintage Casey. I really like this performance. Especially towards the he really starts to show off his range. Good performance. A nice step up from last week.

    “Casey is making up-right bass cool!” — Randy Jackson

    Lauren Alaina — You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman
    Wow, Lauren seems much more poised and confident this week. Perhaps last week’s rave reviews may have encouraged her. Great vocal performance, but as the song progressed I really felt that she could have used the stage better. She walks out but then gets to center stage and doesn’t move from there. I’m really on the fence with her. She could be really good if she works a little more on her performing to own the stage a little more.

    The judges are becoming absolutely useless. No constructive feedback just praise with no thought.

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    James Durbin — While My Guitar Gently Weeps
    Great move by James to slow it down. I agree with Will I Am (is that how you even spell that?) that he needs to bring some passion in order to not get swallowed by the other fast songs of the night. The first half of the song was good, maybe a little boring, but I could feel him trying to put the emotion into the song. The last note was really nice, he maybe could have put more of that into the rest of the song. Not a lot because he wanted to keep it soft and sweet, but maybe a little more edge. It was a good performance, not his best, but it was good.

    Scotty McCreery — That’s All Right
    Nice to Scotty show us another side of spectrum. This is a fun little performance that he sings very well. He is still very goofy (I know he is only 17 so maybe that is to be expected) but it is probably appealing to the ladies (as evidenced by the girls running on stage.) Good performance and it will help him stay alive showing more sides of himself.

    Pia Tuscone — River Deep – Mountain High
    Very interested to see Pia’s upbeat song. She picked a good song for her voice. I’m trying to be unbiased, because I just don’t like her, but even this song is just an upbeat ballad. She stood at one place on the big stage and just sang a few words and then hit a big note. I don’t know why these people don’t know they are allowed to walk left and right. She eventually wondered down by the judges and sang to them and eventually sang to the crowd. She still seems like a little princess who doesn’t want to mingle with the people, but I hope I’m wrong because I really want to like her.

    Jennifer actually give some constructive feedback, but only to the best singer in the competition. I seems like she is favoring Pia over the rest.

    Stenfano Langone — When a Man Love a Woman
    I really want Stefano to do well, but he just doesn’t have a strong enough voice. It is perhaps not fair to compare him to the original, but there where places where I really wanted a bigger note and he just couldn’t do it. Having said that, 95% of that song was awesome. He was emotional, he walked on the stage, and he made the song his and about him. He seemed a little confused at the start switching between the falsetto and now, as if he was two people.

    “Sometimes you can let it marinade and then counter-punch at the end. You know what I’m saying?” — Randy Jackson (BTW: No, I don’t know what you are talking about.)

    Paul McDonald — Folsom Prison Blues
    Paul is growing on me. He did good justice to Johnny Cash tonight. You can really see his experience as a performer coming through as well. He gets up on stage and does his thing and doesn’t care about his critics or detractors. This was a good performance and it will be interesting to see if it gets him out of the bottom three.

    Tonight’s Performances

    This ranking was tough. There really weren’t any bad performances. I think Pia, Casey, and Jacob where in one category and then James and Scotty were in a second category and then the other four are a toss up. Haley was the weakest, but no one really flopped. What was disappointing is that no one really stood out as a star performer. Many of them tried new genres which was nice but no one blew me away.

    1 – Pia Toscano
    2 – Casey Abrams
    3 – Jacob Lusk
    4 – James Durbin
    5 – Scotty McCreery
    6 – Stefano Langone
    7 – Lauren Alaina
    8 – Paul McDonald
    9 – Haley Reinhart

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