Yesterday was Durbin day on American Idol, and the crowds were loving it—well, most of it, anyway. By now, they’re down to the final five, and as Randy said repeatedly, the contestants have to prove that they are “in it to win it.” James was, or at least so said Randy, but who can take him seriously? After all, he said the exact same thing about all the other contestants. Let’s face facts. If someone is going to win, that means four other people (Jacob, Scotty, Lauren, and Haley, I’m looking at you) have to lose. Rather, they must be crushed into obscurity by the power of James’s vocals. Lord knows he tried.
He began the show with a little 30 Seconds to Mars ditty called “Closer to the Edge.” Mentor Sheryl Crow was impressed. She even boasted, “I got to sing with James!” Coming from a woman who has sung duets with Mick Jagger, Eric Clapton, Sting and Pavarotti, Pavarotti, that actually means something.
The performance was good, considering that the song wasn’t one of my favorites. Perhaps James was going for the spoken messages at the beginning of the song: “Fate has a way of throwing things at you,” “Don’t regret anything you do,” “There are so many moments you can share with anyone,” and other vapid truisms. Luckily, he skipped those (or rather saved them for his next performance). He gave a rocking show, high-fiving his way through the audience and pounding the air with his fist, causing the judges to comment that it was like an arena concert. Jennifer bobbed along as always, and Steven Tyler said that James “kicked that song’s ass.” As for Randy, he was already planning James’s debut album for him, trying to veer him from his heavy metal roots.
After four silly performances (thank you, Tivo and the inventors of Fast Forward), James moved on to talking about his family. He decided to shake things up, and went for a ballad for his second song, choosing Harry Nilsson’s “Without You.” You know the song: “I can’t live if living is without you-u-u, da da da …”Apparently James has been living without his family for a little too long. He’s still living, but just barely, it seemed, so when he got to practice with Sheryl and Jimmy Iovine, he decided to cry and run outside instead. Frankly, it was a good move, useful for winning the sympathy vote, especially from frustrated housewives who cannot live without James. What does Heidi say about that?
The result was an emotional performance that got the judges blathering mindlessly. Randy did point out the flat notes and the sharp notes, but added that the raw emotion kept the song real. It may not have been James’s best technical performance, but chances are that there were more than a few weepy women (and even a few men) emoting along with him.
Four more silly songs and the show was over. So here is the question for today. It seems inevitable that James will be in the finals. Who will he be competing against? Hopefully Jacob goes home tonight, so will it be Lauren, Haley, or Howdy Doody, er, Scotty. Let us know who you think will be the one.
