Simonese for the Girls Does Little to Keep Best Singers

Simonese for the Girls Does Little to Keep Best Singers by Roxanne McDonald

Okay, so Antonella was worse this week than she was last, and she chose another song way too far out of her reach. So maybe people are not only ignoring Simon’s assessments but voting based on something other than aptitude?

So, I caught some of the Simonisms—which were fresh and entertaining as ever. But I am still baffled by how America comes nowhere close to what he insightfully and expertly pegs as good versus weak-ass performing.

After Alaina sang a skittish “I’m not Ready to Make Nice”, Simon remarked how “It was like Randy taking part in a 100-meter sprint. He would run out of steam three-quarters of the way. That’s what happened: you ran out of steam. You started fine, but three-quarters of the way through, you lost it.”

Okay, so America agreed with Simon on this one.

When Lakisha finished a sultry and spot-on “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Simon focused on how she didn’t have that “I’ve got a point to prove” that she had last week and which he liked; her outfit he didn’t like; but, he reiterated, she is a phenomenal singer.
Also phenomenal in-training is Gina, who this week did an impassioned “Alone”, but Simon felt the vocals were “forced” and he asserted how he is “a little bit confused as to who you are.” I am thinking how Gina is really a Kelly Clarkson with an edge, and wondering why they are not grooming her more—knowing that they can’t go anywhere near the contestants (after the alleged Paula debacle), but could verbally lead Gina to perfection she is so close to achieving.

Getting more attention, if you will, is Melinda Doolittle, who with her spectacular rendition of “My Funny Valentine” moved the mountain that is Simon Cowell to comment how her “incredible” performance will not blind her humility, how she will not change because of celebrity, and how he likes the “fact that we have someone as talented as [she] in the competition right now.”

And getting oddly deflected attention (?) is the clueless Antonella Barba: she is told by all three judges when she does “Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” that she has chosen a song way out of her league. She comes back with what she says is a better song choice this week, does not belt out but rather brutalizes “Because You Loved Me”, and gets very large, general comments: Randy focuses on Antonella’s looks, Paula focuses on Celine Dione’

competition or peer list, which is very limited, and Simon, while rigorously critical with his pointing out Antonella’s voice is not good enough and is in fact worse than what we heard last week, also addresses the whole Jennifer Hudson as a former Idol and current Academy Award winner. He says “We put Hudson through…America voted her out. If the audience disagrees with me, you’ll be here next week.”
Well, well, well. The emphasis on American Idol in general is made for a reason. For Barba does stay on another week—ugh—and the issue might not be her singing skills.

I will go into this more in a separate entry, as I am still too upset that Barba beat out the clearly more dedicated, more driven, and more aware and more talented Leslie Hunt.

At least she could pick a song that was right for her.

SirLinksAlot American Idol links

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