The Anchoress

British Invasion week on American Idol. Was it just me or did Lulu come off as an incredibly knowlegable , instructive and articulate “celebrity vocal coach” this week? She impressed me a lot, and I hope we see more of her in some venue. Maybe SHE should have a morning talk show to compete against that vapid View.

I was disappointed that no one thought to sing Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man,” which I really think Stephanie Edwards would have killed with, but she chose a different Springfield song, “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me,” which didn’t fit her well at all.

My own humble opinion, LaKisha should have taken Lulu’s advice and gone with “You’re My World,” which no one has heard for a while, and which LaKisha could have completely slaughtered and left dead on the floor, making it her very own. Lulu felt so strongly about it, she chased after LaKisha to try to convince her to sing it. Instead, she sang Diamonds are Forever ala Shirley Bassey and actually came off intoning part of the song like Bassey herself instead of LaKisha, so no…she didn’t have what she could have had, I think, which is one of those “moments” when a singer comes into her own. I suspect it’s a comfort issue with LaKisha, but she never makes anything all hers.

Melinda Doolittle is still my favorite on American Idol - vocally she’s just incredible, but I’m becoming impatient with her song choices. Last week, Diana Ross week, she chose “Home” from “The Wiz,” a snorer of a song. She sang it very well, indeed, but the song itself was forgettable. This week Melinda chose another show tune, “As Long as He Needs Me” from “Oliver.” Okay, it was from the sixties and British, but another dull song and this was the first week she didn’t knock me out. Again, sang it well - very disciplined and controlled and polished (and she really gets into her music, and her lyrics in a good way) but it was still…make better choices, woman! And fire your stylist for what she did to you - the straight hair was much less becoming than the curls, and that blouse…no one should ever wear a blouse that emphasizes slope-shoulders or makes the wearer look like the 18-hour bra gave up the ghost in hour 13. You looked great, sounded great and ate up the stage, here, Melinda…do it again, please!

I find most of the guys on AI this season to be rather meh. The Bald Guy screams too much, the Fro-Guy has a wonderful quality to his voice, but an attitude that makes me want to get a stick and beat him, the Beat Box Guy clearly has good ideas, but the robot-dancing moves are a bit much, the Justin Timberlake Wannabee Guy is too much Timberlake, and when he’s not he’s too nasally (he was decent last night) and Sanjaya…much too beautiful for his own good, poor kid…his sweet disposition seems to be fragmenting and he seems loonier each week. He’ll be scooped up as this era’s Bobby Sherman or David Cassidy with the requisite 2 year shelf-life and the crying teenage girls. But the tongue must never come out of his mouth, again. Ugh. And is it just me or is there a dearth of “manly men” everywhere in pop culture? All the men seem to be feminized or wispy-looking…on the radio they all sound like they’re 16 years old…whatever happened to manly men in pop music? No wonder I listen to Bryn Terfel and look at Derek Jeter. (Okay, I look at Bryn, too, but mostly I listen to him.) I want to see more testosterone in public, and less of these men who look like they’d be good shopping companions. I do not get the “Blake is sexy” thing at all.

Of the other girls, Gina never quite brings it (although her hair looked great) and Haley…shouldn’t she be playing Sandy in a touring production of Grease?

But Jordin Sparks - she’s got some set of pipes and she too, like Melinda, seems capable of really tearing into the lyrics of a piece and pulling out their meaning. She’s also incredibly gorgeous - what a smile - and when I think that she’s only 17, I’m astonished. And she’s only going to get better in her art. Last night she sang “I Who Have Nothing,” and I thought the song would be too old and too big for her, but she rose to meet it and did such a good job I was sorry the piece was shortened for the show.

For a fuller version of the song, check out Tom Jones doing it up - the video is just a jacket photo, but the piece is worth listening to on its own.

Dean Barnett is also writing about last night And Althouse is always a great read on AI, as is Venomous Kate.

Related:
Melinda Doolittle made me cry…
Eliot; Moody’s Mood for Love