After last year’s overall awkward season due to the endless bickering between judges, American Idol is back and in the middle of its thirteenth season. Also, with slowly dropping ratings, the lack of success of last season’s winner, and the departure of long-time judge, Randy Jackson, the show has taken on a whole new feel, one that viewers are much more comfortable and entertained watching.
This year, the judges all seem to actually get along— a huge change which makes the show more comfortable to watch. Viewers do not have to suffer through Nicki Minaj’s eye rolling and Mariah Carey’s diva- tude anymore. Instead, they get to watch the hilarious bromance between Harry and Keith Urban unfold.
This season’s judges — Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr — are the perfect mix of different music genres, talents and opinions. JLo’s history in not only pop music, but also in dance and performing allow her to give great advice on how the contestants should work the stage. Keith’s background in country music allows him to help the contestants sing with emotion and stay connected with the story each song portrays. Lastly, Harry is educated in all forms of music, and he makes sure that the singers use proper techniques both vocally and instrumentally.
So far this season, the contestants have shown great diversity and are very eclectic. Ranging from country music artist Dexter Roberts to rock and roll singer Caleb Johnson, the contestants cover pretty much all genres of music.
On April 9, 2014 the top 8 took on 80’s night, singing songs by artists from Michael Jackson to Chaka Kahn. The night started out with Jena Irene, who performed one of the most well-known songs of the 80’s, “I Love Rock and Roll”, and she definitely made her mark with it. Known for her darker, more dramatic style of performing, she slowed down the arrangement of the song and Lopez and Urban praised the originality of her work.
Dexter Roberts sang Georgia Satellite’s “Keep Your Hands to Yourself”, and his ongoing problem with enunciation continued. Also, Jess Meuse strutted around the stage singing “Call Me”. Meuse’s interesting and unique voice has made her stand out throughout the season, and this fast tempo song allowed her unique voice to shine. However, both Robert’s and Meuse’s performances proved to be lackluster, and left the judges asking for more star power.
The usually crazy and overly-hyped Malaya Watson took on Chaka Kahn’s “Through the Fire”. The judges said she lacked the maturity to sing such an intense song. Even though Malaya is known for being able to belt out the highest notes with complete ease, Connick thought she anticipated reaching the high notes too early in the performance.
Alex Preston and CJ Harris both made major changes to the arrangements of their songs. Preston turned The Police’s hit, “Every Breath I Take”, into more of a lullaby and the judges applauded this artistic change. On the other hand, CJ Harris struggled to sing in tune during his performance of “Free Falling”, but Connick still complemented his ability to connect with the audience.
All eyes were on Sam Woolf, since the judges used their one save of the season on him when he was eliminated the previous week on April 3. For 80’s night Sam chose the classic “Time After Time”. Once again, he struggled to connect with the girls in the audience, and instead just stared sweetly into the camera. Although he may be connecting with the millions of teenage girls watching him all throughout the country, he lacks the ability to entertain the crowd present in front of him.
The night closed with rocker Caleb Johnson belting out “Faithfully”. He started the song out slowly, but, as always, finished it with big vocal moments. He definitely finished 80’s night with a bang.
Perhaps the more interesting moments of 80’s night were all of the judges’ unexpected hijinks. From Urban sporting a fake mullet to Connick going into the audience and carrying a (most likely scared out of her mind) young girl on his shoulders, the judges definitely provided some comic relief for the show.
Even more shocking, however, was the result show which aired on Thursday night. Instead of the usual bottom three, Ryan Seacrest only announced the bottom two: the constantly pitchy CJ Harris and the crowd favorite Malaya Watson. The show most likely did not announce the usual bottom three because they did not want to reveal that their golden boy, Sam, who the judges controversially saved, was in the bottom three again.
In the end, it was Malaya who got voted off, and she sang her goodbye song, “I Am Changing”, with so much emotion that it almost seemed as if she was singing for a save.
This Wednesday, April 16, the top seven will be singing for their lives, as their are no more saves and only six more weeks until the finale.
