Thoughts and musings of Peter Kupfer

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  • The Start of American Idol: Top Twelve Men

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    So far I have been very pleased with the Cowell-less American Idol. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have brought a nice addition to the show. I wouldn’t say it is better than some of the early seasons of Idol, but it is a good evolution of the show. The talent this year has been extremely good and I constant amazed that they are able to find more singers every year. I feel more connected to the men so far it seems that Casey and James are the early front runners.

    Clint Jun Gamboa — Superstitious
    Clint reminds me of Andrew Garcia from last season, but more talented. I am not digging the disco lights and goofy dancing. Clint seems to be going with a very safe and un-memorable performance. I don’t think he has enough buzz to pull this enough. A few strong notes at the end, but not a real exciting performance over all. Solid performance, but he is being too safe.

    Jovany Barreto — Crying Shoulder
    Jovany looks very nervous on stage. Good song choice trying to go with a more difficult song. He sounds flat in a lot of places and again the performance lacks any real memorable qualities. It was a good performance, but nothing I will be talking about tomorrow. I know it is the first week, but the contestants need to make a mark on the show. (Randy made a good point, you need to bring something special to the song.)

    Jordan Dorsey — OMG
    I do not like this guy, but he has some talent. Jordan has the showmanship down. He did a great job owning the stage and bringing some flair to the song. He seemed to bring a lot of personality to the song. He took a chance and stretched himself and tried to make himself better. I don’t really know this song, so I’m not sure how unique it was, but I was a fan of the song. I don’t care if it is not him, I like that he tried to show a new side of himself.

    Tim Halperin — Come on Over
    Tim seems to really enjoy this song. I feel his spirit coming through in it. It again was a relatively easy choice and didn’t really show off his talent. It was a good song to lead the crowd, but he could have done a tougher song and pushed himself further.

    Brett Loewenstern — Light My Fire
    I’m not a big fan of Brett coming into this show. I was surprised he made the cut, but here he is. Brett sings the rock classic well, but his voice is so high pitched and his movement is erratic is almost comes across as creepy. He doesn’t seems to have very large vocal range. He seemed to only be singing in a range of about 6 notes. I didn’t see anything new out of him in that performance, but I would have liked to see another side of him. I’m not really sure who is going to vote for him except for the people at votefortheworst.com.

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    James Durbin – You Got Another Thing Comin’ 
    James is one of my two early picks to win this season. Although realistically he will probably make it to the top 3 or 5 as a rocker has yet to win the show. I don’t know this song at all, but what James did sounded good to me. He is talented, but not as off the wall as Adam Lambert which may help him get over the hurdle the rockers have faced. I don’t know if he is a musical as Chris Daughtry, in terms of arrangements as such, but he may be with his pedigree.

    Robbie Rosen — In the Arms of An Angel
    Whenever I see a guy is going to sing a song made famous by a femal artist I get nervous, but I was presently surprised by Robbie’s performance. I’m not thrilled with the arrangement, but he is bringing something new to the song and he is a doing a good job of it. He has a very nice voice and he may be a dark horse in this competition. Time will tell if he can keep growing as an artist and find new ways to perform. But, I will give him a lot of credit for trying something different with the song.

    Scotty McCreery – Letters From Home
    Scotty is very much a one trick pony which will probably be enough to get him at least one good selling album. I don’t like how is face looks all cocky. I feel like he is a getting a big head because he is a 17 year old kid on Idol, but maybe I am not giving him enough credit. (His humbleness after the whole JC incident and at the end of his performance is making me rethink my impression.) It was a good performance and I liked his little adjustment at the end, but again it wasn’t amazing, but it was a solid performance right in his wheel house.

    Stefano Langone – Just the Way You Are
    This song was okay until the chorus. After that it became clear that Stefano does not have the pipes to pull this song. Again he seems to have about a 6 note range (admittedly he tried to leave this range, but it didn’t go well). I’m really not sure if I dislike this performance or Brett’s more.

    Paul McDonald — Maggie May
    Seems like a Rod Stewart cover even down to impersonating the way his voice sounds. Paul seems to have the Taylor Hicks movement tick on stage which doesn’t bother me, but rather it is just an observation (and perhaps a good omen for him.) Nothing new here. A decent cover of a good song. Safe performance, but he is going to need to do better.

    Jacob Lusk – A House is Not a Home
    Really excited for Jacob to sing. What a performer. It seems that he can sing anything. He can go as low as Scotty and as high as Brett and do it better than both of them combined. He needs to figure out what he wants to sing because right now he is perhaps little too goofy and doesn’t have a niche. (Although I guess he can have a Luther Vandrose type career with beautiful balads.)  Having said that, I am going to have to put him with Casey and James as front runners. (I forgot his God Bless the Child performance or else I may have added him in the first place.)

    Casey Abrams – I Put a Spell on You
    Wow, what energy! This guy brings it all when he sings and I love it. I don’t know if he is like a young Meatloaf or where he fits into the music world, but I want him to stay around. When he was singing “Put a Spell on You” I felt like he was actually going to put a spell on me. You can tell he is confident, but not cocky. We will have to see if he can make it 15+ weeks.

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  • American Idol Power Rankings: 04/14/2010

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    Adam Lambert did a great job with these contestants. The karaoke effect was very small and they, for the most part, all brought something new to these songs. It was a good week and the cream is rising to the crop.

    1) (1) Crystal Bowersox — Really brought her A-game this week and kept herself in the lead position. If she keeps getting better and showing more of herself each week she is going to be tough to catch.
    2) (2) Casey James — Solid performance, but not improving. He can hold on to the second ranking, but to some extent it is based on potential and not his performance. He needs to step it up or Lee is going to pass him.
    3) (3) Lee DeWyzee — Growing in confidence each week and performing well. He needs to keep growing in confidence and building a fan base.
    4) (7) Tim Urban — Had a break through performance this week and moved from pretty boy status to serious contender.
    5) (4) Michael Lynche — Simon said it, “a million, billion times better than last week.” Great performance with good vocals and a whole new side of big Mike.
    6) (5) Aaron Kelly –  It seems like his age is catching up with him. His performances are not getting stronger each week at this point. He needs to overcome this plateau or else we are going to be seeing him in the bottom three repeatedly.
    7) (6) Katie Stevens — Not as good as last week. Not a bad performance, but by comparison it was not one of the best.
    8 ) (8)  Siobhan Magnus — Not impressive. She is going down each week and needs a revival to survive.
    9) (9) Andrew Garcia — Showed more personality, but not better singing. If he isn’t one of the two sent home I will be shocked!

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  • American Idol — April 13, 2010: Top Nine (Again)

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    Visiting the songs of Elvis this week should be interesting. I am not familiar with a lot of his songs outside of the standards, so I may hear some new stuff. One of the problems of course is that with popular songs you have to make sure that you don’t sing karaoke, but you have some originality. I am looking for the front runners to step their game up and keep opening the gap.

    At this point, you really have three contestants who are in the front of the pack which would be Crystal, Lee, and Casey. Before even seeing the show I would expect Andrew to go home and possible big Mike.

    Ryan Seacrest opens up really well again with a funny interview with Adam Lambert, who is a fantastic choice of mentor for Elvis week. (Although I would have preferred if they would have brought Elvis out of hiding.) I see Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) and William Schuester (Matthew Morrison) behind them from Glee, good cross promotion and Glee is coming back tonight. (Yeah!)

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    Alright here we go with this week’s (delayed) live blog.

    Crystal Bowersox — Saved
    Brings the fire again this week. The decision to switch to electric was a good one. During the first half of the song, I was worried the song was kind of too easy and not special enough, but half way through she stepped it up and brought her own flavor to it. Fantastic performance and I have talked about the need for her to keep improving herself every week to stay in front, and she did just that.

    Andrew Garcia — Ain’t Nothing but a Houndog
    Going for a smooth, slower version of the song. This is not a horrible rendition, but it is not contemporary, it is really a Sinatra type style to the song which is not what I am looking for. One of his better performances (he is really showing some personality). This performance showed some weak vocal ability but I thought the performance was okay.

    Tim Urban — Can’t Help Falling in Love
    (I am pretty excited for this song.) (Did Ryan really call him T’Urban?)     The second verse taking the vocal in a strong direction was really nice. Excellent guitar playing along with the vocals. This was a really strong performance and could be a break out moment for him. He didn’t smile during the song which was okay but he look so emotionless it kind of bothered me. I would like him to get a hair cut as we go along here, but this was a really great performance.

    Lee DeWyze — A Little Less Conversation
    Very contemporary and rocking. This could be on country radio right now. Good vocals and good beat. I liked the Ricky Minor on bass addition. I would like to see him move a little bit more. He seems to still be hiding behind his guitar. He needs to get out and show a little more flair. (I agree with Kara, he really attacked the vocal but he should be looser and have passion (thanks Simon, no skipping.))

    Aaron Kelly — Blue Suede Shoes Continue reading →

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  • Top 9 Power Rankings: 04/07/10

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    After American Idol’s Lennon and McCartney my rankings haven’t change much. We are at the point in the season where the cream rises to top and being a good singer is not longer enough. All of the contestants need to step it up if they are going to survive.

    1) (1) Crystal Bowersox — Crystal had another solid performance, but she needs to take it to then next level if she wants to stay on top.
    2) (2) Casey James — Strong performer taking risks, if he takes a few more big risks and they pay off he could take it all.
    3) (4) Lee DeWyzee — Judges and fans love him as he comes out of his shell and gains confidence.
    4) (3) Michael Lynche — Had kind of weird interpretation of the song this week and is having trouble breaking out of doing the same thing every week.
    5) (5) Aaron Kelly –  Did a nice job and is a talented individual, a few more years under his belt and he should be a star.
    6) (7) Katie Stevens — Had one of, if not her best performance. This should keep her around, but she has a lot of work to do.
    7) (6) Tim Urban — In a competition with six other boys his good vocals and pretty smile may not be enough with the safe song choices he is making.
    8) (9)  Siobhan Magnus — Had another odd week. Her big notes are not going to be enough to keep her around if she can’t put together a solid performance.
    9) (8) Andrew Garcia — His time may be up, he can sing okay, but his songs sound the same each week and he isn’t really growing.

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  • American Idol — April 06, 2010 – Top 9

    Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

    Time for the live (well slightly delayed) blog for this week’s American Idol playing the Lennon/McCartney song book. Hopefully there will be some songs from this century. I am impressed that they 35 #1 hits but they are old fashioned and it is hard to say if they can come across as fresh.

    I still remember David Archuleta singing Imagine back in season 7 which was his defining moment. I know that wasn’t a Lennon/McCartney Week, but it was still a Lennon song and it was great. I know he sang it in the finale but this was the first performance and set him in place as a front runner.

    Kara says the songs and themes are still relevant today. Simon seems pissy should be a good night.

    Aaron Kelly – Long and Winding Road
    My first thought is that this song (or at least the presentation of it) is not befitting of his age. I expected one of the faster upbeat songs. He seems to singing it well but I am falling asleep. (Randy agrees and I like his idea to make it cpuntryish.)

    Simon called Aaron sweety, funny.

    Katie Stevens – Let It Be
    The pink dress and shiny necklaces doesn’t seem to fit. I would have thought more somber colors would be better. She does a very nice job building the song up to a crescendo in the middle and them bringing in the background singers at the end. Overall pretty nice performance. Not show stopping but high quality. (I like what Ellen said about her just changing the song enough but still being respectful. I did not hear the country Simon is talking about.)

    Andrew Garcia – Can’t Buy Me Love
    I can’t tell what is up with his hair very tall and annoying. He seems to have gone with a swing version of the song. I honestly can’t decide what I think. I like the creativity like last week but I feel like he is detached or something. I feel like I should like this song more but something is missing for me.

    Michael Lynche – Elanor Rigbey
    This is a contemporary remake of this song. He is bring out some soul along with some nice strings. Mike is hitting his notes and is bringing a new element to his repetoire. This is everything the judges keep asking for.

    I like Kara’s dress, she looks good tonight.

    Crystal Bowersox – Come Together
    I didn’t know (or at least I forgot) that she is a mother. That makes me like her even more. Wow, a didgeridoo, I like it. She is definately being true to herself. I think the deep sound of instrument complements her voice very well. This is another great performance by Crystal of a classic song. She definately put a nice rock twist on the song while staying faithful. I wasn’t blown away by because it is what I expect of her. I like that she picked the song just because it was going to be fun. It is going to be hard to knock her out, but she is still going to have to step it up a level to win because Lee or someone else could catch her. I did enjoy how confident and at east she seemed and the fact that Simon spent as much time talking about the didgeridoo as he did about Crystal’s performance is a good sign for her.

    Tim Urban – All My Loving
    Tim signs this as Beatles tribute it seems like. He does a really nice job and if this were a Beatles cover band competition, he would win, but this is a show to try and make a contemporary song, and this was not that.  He sang it really well and it was fun, but I don’t know that it is going to blow anyone away. (I’m surprised Simon thought that was current. Guess I was wrong.)

    Casey James -
    Nice work by Casey with the guitar. This is a country performance I would want to listen to right now. He sings this song with passion and conviction. The big not he hit in the middle was excellent. He is dressed nice sounds great. Can’t say much else, but great job. Probably my favorite of the night.

    Siobhan Magnus – Across the Universe
    She made a good decision to take this performance in a new direction from where she had been. It is a little too operatic for my tastes. If I was driving and it came on the radio I think I would literally fall asleep. She again demonstrates her good voice, but she needs to somehow reestablish herself as a contemporary artist and be a contender. Her pass from the judges last week because she is a good signed may be about up if she doesn’t do something high quality next week. (I like Kara’s description of the song as very polite.)

    Lee DeWyze – Hey Jude
    I understand that he is trying to sound raspy at the start but it sounds forces and unnatural and flat a few times. I like the arrangement and for the most part the way he is singing it. HOLY BAGPIPES! First a didgeridoo, now this. My favorite part was the last part after the bagpipes come out and he goes without the guitar for a minute. The raspiness went away and it was just him singing. Good performance. I liked last weeks better, and it wasn’t the best of the night, but it was solid.

    Conclusion
    No one really stood out as having a horrible night so it is hard to say who will go home. If I had to choose, I would say Andrew is ready to go, he has stopped growing and is one of the weaker contestants. Katie is on the precipice of leaving, but her solid song tonight may keep her going, but she may not have enough fans left to keep her out of the bottom three. My ranking of tonight’s performances:

    1) Casey James
    2) Katie Stevens
    3) Crystal Bowersox
    4) Lee DeWyze
    5) Tim Urban
    6) Aaron Kelly
    7) Michael Lynche
    8) Siobhan Magnus
    9) Andrew Garcia

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    1. Peter Kupfer’s American Idol Rankings: 04/01/2010

      Posted on by Peter Kupfer 1 Comment

      Last nights R&B show was a little disappointing. Either me or the contestants were the confused. I was expected songs from the at least the 90′s like songs by Usher or Kanye West (who I still do not like) or at least Luther Vandross. In any event I am prepared to release my first American Idol Rankings:

      1. Crystal Bowersox — Crystal needs to make sure she stays true to herself or she is going to become the same as everybody and get based by more confident singers.
      2. Casey James — Knows who he is and how to perform. He needs to work on more challenging songs.
      3. Michael Lynche — I am not a huge fan of his, but the judges adore him and maybe I am not getting it.
      4. Lee DeWyzee — Really good singer and he is willing to take risks with the arrangement. Could go deep and move to the top with some more poise.
      5. Aaron Kelly –  Very talented, but very young. Time will tell if his voice can make the long haul.
      6. Tim Urban — Good, we will have to see if he can expand his audience beside middle school girls.
      7. Katie Stevens — Good singer. Not the best, but maybe she could move up.
      8. Andrew Garcia — I like him sometimes, but he needs to be a little more diverse.
      9. Siobhan Magnus — Had a rough week, so I this probably a little low, but I’m not sure what to do with her.
      10. Didi Benami — I  think she is good, but if I have to pick a worst of the 10, it would have to be her.

      Post-Script: I guess the smiling didn’t pay off for Tim. Too bad for Didi, I think Broadway may be calling her.

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    2. American Idol: March 30, 2010

      Posted on by Peter Kupfer Comment

      Here we go with R & B Week. Ryan Seacrest did a very nice job with the opening for the week. It got me excited! Much better celebrity mentor this week. I am not a big Usher fan, but he is clearly a superstar and an R & B expert.

      This week added backstage shots of the contestants which I enjoyed, it adds a little more personality to the show.

      Siobhan Magnus — Through the Fire

      Very sharp or at least off pitch through most of the song. It was very painful to listen to. I am not finding this to be a very Soul or R&B like song. I feel like this might be a case of the song just not sounding right on TV, because she is usually not this bad. I found the whole thing to be a little boring. She tried to sing her big notes like usual, but I don’t find that she really owns the stage by any means. (Randy agrees, yeah!)

      Casey James — Hold On, I’m Comin’ by Sam and Dave

      Really nice performance, you could feel the soul in the song which is the whole point of the night. Casey seamlessly adds in the guitar riffs like a seasoned performer. The song wasn’t horribly vocally challenging, but he owned the stage and had a great performance.

      Michael Lynche — Ready for Love — India Arie

      Michael sang this well, but again, I found it kind of boring. I guess I had a different expectation overall of Soul/R&B night from all of the high school dances I have chaperoned. I was expecting songs like what Usher sings. I think Mike living off of the sentimental guy thing is going to wear out soon, he needs to start with a different game.

      I think it is ridiculous that Usher is wearing glasses indoors.

      Didi Benami — What Becomes of the Brokenhearted — Jimmy Ruffin

      This girl looks good and sounds great tonight. She has a strong, solid voice. The song is going a little fast for me, but I that makes it more exciting. I like the twist she put on the end for originality. I have a feeling she is going to get some more theatrical comments this week. (Did you notice how big her guns were?) I enjoyed this performance except perhaps how fast the song was. (Yeah, Ellen called it dramatic.)

      It turns out that the reference Ryan was making to DiDi singing the some for someone was her best friend Rebecca who dies before she auditioned.

      The lyrics of

      Tim Urban — Sweet Love — Anita Baker

      (Teflon Tim, what is that about?) Tim’s got the part undone tie looking like he just got through a rough day which I think adds to the styling of this song nicely. He sings this song very well, but it lacks originality. It is time for the contestants to start taking this performances to the next level. If I wanted to hear the same as the original recording, I would just download that.

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      Andrew Garcia – Forever — Chris Brown

      Independent of anything else, I give Andrew credit for trying to adapt the songs each week to fit who he wants to be an artist. I think Andrew does a good job. He seems to be in tune and he brings some energy to the song. I think it will be important for him to move around the stage more at some point so that he doesn’t get too stuck in this genre he is in. I enjoyed the performance and it was substantially better than the last two weeks. (The outfit was mad dope. I love Randy Jackson.)

      I think it is a shame that Ryan has not won an Emmy or something because he does a phenomenal job in his job. Bringing out Andrew’s mother was hilarious.

      Katie Stevens — Chain of Fools — Aretha Franklin

      Wow, I didn’t expect this strong of a performance out of Katie. She tried a high degree of difficulty and did a really nice job. She had some attitude, was into the song and head bobbing on stage. She was on pitch and really did the whole thing well. She actually brought some soul and R&B love to the soul and R&B week which I can’t say for all of the contestants. Really good job.

      Lee DeWyze — Treat Her Like a Lady — Temptations

      I’m liking Lee’s rock like version of this song. This seems like a song that could be on the radio. Major props here for the original arrangement and the good vocals. Maybe a little more motion on stage would have been nice, but he really rocked this song out!

      Crystal Bowersox — Midnight Train to Georgia — Gladys Night and the Pimps

      Very excited for the big surprise! I think she missing the point of the judge’s comments if she thinks playing the piano addresses their concerns. They want her moving around the stage and not thinking. We’ll see how it goes. She sounds nice, but I don’t think her eyes came up at the camera once while she was at the piano. Every other contestant got advice from Usher to look up to make a connection, but she doesn’t do that. Good for her that she can sing. So, she gets up from the piano and still doesn’t move at all. This performance is not anywhere near as good as last weeks. (I really liked Simon Cowell’s comments about not abandoning what she had been doing.)

      Aaron Kelly — Ain’t No Sunshine — Bill Withers

      He needs to lose the Alf Alfa spike in his hair, it is distracting. Really excellent vocals from the kid here. I liked the arrangement of the song, and the “I know” part really worked well. I don’t think he moved more than about 6 feet the whole song which something I would work on. Good vocal, performance could be better.

      If I had that much confidence when I was 11, How old are you? — Classic Ellen DeGeneres

      Hold On, I’m Comin’H

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