Week Two

With one person to be eliminated and thus, missing out on a spot in the coveted Idol Tour, there were a lot of nervous faces during the Week Two eliminations. It came down to Alexis Grace, who was perhaps a little unlucky to leave the Idol whirlwind. She had been consistently strong throughout the early stages of the competition but delivered a weak performance during Country week. She was definitley among the worst for Week Two, and even when given another chance for a "save" by the judges, she could not turn the song into her own. Perhaps she was also done in by her smug attitude, which may have alienated some Idol viewers.

Country week sorts the men from the (cow)boys. It is certainly not a style of music that suits everyone. Adam Lambert could not deal with Country and chose a cover of a cover of a Country song. In performing Jeff Buckley's version of Johnny Cash's "Ring Of Fire", Adam delivered almost a parody of popular music itself. His over-the-top "indulgent" (said Simon) performance was unintentionally hilarious. Lambert is a seasoned performer with a strong theatrical background, which gives him both an advantage and a disadvantage. The former being his confidence on stage, whilst the latter consists of a certain amount of 'acting' which is in stark contrast to the rest of the performers.



Scott was typically dull. I cannot understand the fascination with this guy. Is the reason he is still in the competition simply because he is blind? OK, this is harsh of me to say, but let's be honest - he is the weakest performer in the competition. His reliance on the piano will become a hindrance to his longevity. I mean, he's boring to me now, so I can only imagine how he's going to get to me after another ten weeks of piano ballads!

On the other hand, Matt's use of the piano and his soulful crooning are winning me over. Knowing that Matt can easily move away from the piano, he is far more interesting as a performer than Scott. Half of Idol-watching is actually becoming accustomed to a particular performers' sound and genre (for example, Allison has fast become known as a "rocker girl"), and the other half is seeing how they grow in these roles. Some performers do not have much room for growth, and Scott is one of these.

Michael was of course right at home singing a Country tune. He was solid as always and so was Danny Gokey - one of the early hot favourites. Megan led a uncharacteristically mellow performance - she was clearly ill and was given praise from the judges for her "consummate professionalism". But the real surprise of the night was another favourite, Anoop ("Dogg") Desai. After Week One's horrid rendition of Michael Jackson's "Beat It", Anoop was back in form with a smooth, impressive performance. Now that the Top Ten have been selected, American Idol Season 8 is shaping up to be one of the most interesting in the history of this groundbreaking show.

by Idol Man