Round 2 Brings The 70s to American Idol

by WindUpDoll

All Randy’s gonna tell them is that they need to be in it to win it. Word up, Randy. Simon just tells them to be better. I wasn’t paying attention to Paula.

Reversing last week, Michael Johns is up first. He loves tennis. I feel closer to him already. I almost believe he has time to play tennis. He’s singing ‘Go Your Own Way’ by Fleetwood Mac. Obviously, this is a Lindsay Buckingham song, as opposed to a Stevie Nicks song. I can tell by Michael’s lack of flowy things in his wardrobe choice. He doesn’t sound that good on this. Aha! A chink in his armour — if it’s not The Doors, INXS or Queen, he’s not as confident. Judges one & two are liking it. Simon says he was coasting and the song choice was weak. Apparently Michael’s dream has been to sing a Fleetwood Mac song. Apparently in his car doesn’t count.

Jason Castro hates doing interviews. We’re treated to a bunch of clips of him not doing well in interviews. It only makes him more charming. He’s singing ‘I Just Want To Be Your Everything.’ He does well, but doesn’t wow me like last week. It’s probably because I hadn’t heard him before, and now I have so I expect him to be good. Randy thinks it was just ok. Paula disagrees, but she would like to see him without the guitar next week. Simon hated it.

Luke Menard was with an a cappella group. It’s hard because you don’t have a band. Duh. He’s singing ‘Killer Queen.’ It’s interesting because he talked about how singing & touring all over the world really prepared him to be on American Idol. But the thing about Idol is that you’re singing with a band, i.e., NOT a cappella. He also just looks way too clean cut to be singing a Queen song. Sorry, but Freddie Mercury liked to have a good time. Luke looks like he enjoys going to bed at a responsible hour, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Randy & Paula love it. Simon thinks it’s a mistake, since he’ll always be judged by the original, and he’s no Freddie Mercury. Ryan makes a funny & calls Luke ‘Dawson’s Creek.’ Well played, Ryan. I’ll vote for you.

Robbie Britney boy is up next and he’s not wearing a bandanna! It looks like he’s not receding after all. Whew! He says there are so many different levels of rock. Robbie is way deep. His surprising fact is that he drag races cars. I’m not surprised, Kid Rock. He likes the smells of things burning. He also gives a little ‘be safe’ message. I’m sure the kids heard you. He’s doing ‘Hot Blooded,’ which I always think of as an ’80s song for some reason. He’s also calling on the power of Daughtry with his wallet chain. I kinda fall asleep halfway through it. It didn’t have enough ‘Uhhhh!’ for Randy. Paula empathizes with the ‘lack of authenticity’ thing. She does think Robbie played it safe with this performance. I can’t stop looking at the hangy leather necklace that Paula chose to wear with a really low-cut top. Simon says not to get worked up about the authenticity thing and that he did ok.

I’m not surprised you were in a punk rock band in 8th grade, Danny Noriega. They were a bunch of rebellious kids playing instruments. He’s looking much less Shane this week. He’s singing ‘Superstar’ — bold move since that became Ruben’s signature song on this show. It’s definitely showing his voice more than jumping around singing Elvis was, but it sounds a bit too low for him. It’s like he backlashed from last week — last week he was having too much fun for the judges, now he’s not having enough. I hope he stays around next week so that we can hear more from him. This time Simon tells him he looks terrific. I imagine it’s because he uses product. And is 18.

Next up is David Hernandez, and he was in gymnastics as a kid. Now he can do a cartwheel. He’s singing ‘Papa Was A Rolling Stone.’ He’s wearing this hideous tux/hoodie combo jacket. Ew. Hoodies have their place, but not in conjunction with a tux. Ever. He’s pretty good on this song, although when he first started, I had the George Michael version stuck in my head. Randy is loving it — dat was hot. Paula says his voice is pure and cuts right to the heart. She does that spastic clapping that knocks the mic. Simon says it was the best vocal of the night so far. He likes that David takes criticism and works with it as a challenge instead of sulking. I agree, Simon.

Jason Yeager plays multiple instruments, apparently self-taught on many of them. He’s singing ‘Long Train Running’ and he’s really smilie through the whole thing. I feel like I’m watching Kids from Wisconsin at times when I watch him. They’re super-positive if you’ve never seen them. They’re kind of like Up With Everything. Randy thinks it was pitchy and karaoke. Paula notes that the song doesn’t have many notes in it. Simon says last week was boring & this week was awkward. Simon calls him a quite good singer who can’t perform well. Yep, I’m still agreeing with Simon.

Chikezie is up next and he’s going to reveal his funky name origin. It’s Nigerian and apparently the way it’s pronounced on the show is incorrect. He’s singing ‘I Believe’ and he sounds better than last week. He probably could’ve gotten away with the rust suit this week, being ’70s week. Randy calls it hot. Paula calls it brilliant. Simon thought it was a million times better than last week. He gives Simon crap about wearing the same thing all the time, but immediately apologizes. Chikezie’s mother is horrified. Apparently someone got a talking-to last week after giving Simon static.

David Cook is a word nerd. So they give a montage of him saying big words. None of these words should be foreign to anyone. He’s vocalizing ‘All Right Now’ but he’s letting the backup singers do the chorus the first time. Huh? Isn’t this about YOU singing, dude? He’s also playing guitar. He’s trying to get the crowd into singing along. It’s hard to tell on TV if he is successful. He’s still got that stupid rag in his back pocket. That thing must stink by now. Randy and Paula are loving it. Simon calls it solid & believable, but notes that his video made him look boring. David gives the sass back to Simon and says he has to charm the audience and not him. Simon’s obviously ticked. Not the wisest move, David. Chances are you’re not going to win, and then you’ll be wishing you had bewitched Simon. Or at least made yourself alluring to him. Man, I must be using a wussy thesaurus. There have got to be way more obscure words that mean ‘to charm.’

Finally David Archuleta and his pinchable cheeks are up. We learn that when he was 11 he got to meet the first Idol finalists. He also sang at them, and from the home video, it looks like Kelly Clarkson touched him. He’s singing ‘Imagine’ and he recently got a haircut. He sounds good, but it starts like a boy band singing that song. It’s interesting, because with John Lennon, you can hear the bit of despair that fuels the hope. With a 17-year-old singing it, there’s just the hope half of the song. It works, but since I’m old enough to be this kid’s mom, I need the despair. Randy calls it ‘brill-iant.’ Randy wanted to know why he didn’t sing the first verse. He didn’t ’cause he liked the message of hope. Please reference what I wrote a couple of sentences ago. Paula wants to squish him and dangle him from her rear-view mirror. She’s blown away, too. Simon said it was a risk, but that it worked, and there are 19 very sad contestants here after his performance.

Tomorrow, the girls take on the ’70s. Will Amanda Overmyer look like Stevie Nicks? Will Brooke look even more like Carly Simon? Only time will tell… on American Idol.