Week Seven & Eight

Week Seven was a bore - I think I dread Disco Week more than Simon (if that's even possible). It was good to see the end of Lil and Anoop, leaving Matt to clutch his Idol dream for one more week. Lil, as Simon said, had become a shadow of the performer we had all seen in auditions and Hollywood Week. Instead of finding her own voice (and it was indeed a big voice to accompany her 'lil' name) she seemed to allow herself to merely perform caricatures of the artists of the songs she was singing, memorably demonstrated by that Tina Turner strut across the stage. Unfortunately for Lil, it was too late for her to find that voice, and she was rightly ousted from Season 8.

As for Anoop - well, the guy had gotten through many times by the skin of his charm, and he was easily the weakest vocalist remaining in the competition. With the double-goodbye of Week Seven, Anoop was (sorry to say) the deserved second departure.



Week Eight saw Jamie Foxx lead the Idols through their paces for the songs of the infamous Rat Pack. A charismatic actor, comedian and musician, Jamie lent his observations of the style of the era and was as smooth as Frank and Dean themselves. The remaining five performers did well, with Adam again the standout with his sleazy strut down the stairs onto the stage. Kris was also in fine form, and those who have been hailing this guy since the beginning must be ecstatic with how far he has come. A clear dark horse from early on, I can't really recall a week when Kris had a poor night. On occasion he has been (to quote Randy) "solid, dude" and hasn't hit the artistic heights of Lambert, but he has been consistently strong. He also seems as though every word he is singing is directed adoringly toward his wife, which may go a long way in securing his popularity for sheer sweetness.



Week Eight saw the departure of Matt, who had failed to really make an impression despite a groovy, crowd-pleasing rendition of the Bee Gees classic "Stayling Alive" during Disco Week. But his departure clearly left the four strongest contestants to battle it out until the end. I would have thought that Adam would be the favourite, but after he was relegated to the bottom three this week (eventually facing off with Matt), I am not so sure. Perhaps the 'schtick' and theatrics that I disliked early on has been picked up by others and will be his undoing. But, don't ya know - I kinda like the guy now...

by Idol Man