It was Beatles Night last night on American Idol, and that’s easy pickings for James Durbin. After all, the fabric store raider has made quite an impression with his appearances with the White Album Ensemble. After all, the fabric store raider has made quite an impression with his appearances with the White Album Ensemble, at least one of whichis all over the web. Back then, his performance—and his outfit—were subdued. Even his hair was relatively tame then, though he could have used a comb.
Last night was totally different. There was more hair standing up behind the bandana, more scarves dangling from his belt and an oddly placed military insignia placed upside down on the sleeve of his red T-shirt. He also had to perform in a duet, this time with Stefano Langone, another Idol hopeful who will soon be forgotten. The good news is that Durbin out-screamed him in their version of “Get Back.” The bad news is that the lyrics could be taken ominously (“Get back to where you once belonged”—i.e., Santa Cruz). Fortunately, the judges didn’t pick up on that, and Durbin was able to move on to the next round of the show.
Unfortunately, that meant another hour of watching while waiting for the judges to go through the contestants one by one. We were witness to many riveting moments, culminating in J. Lo’s emotional breakdown after she had to kick some guy off the show even though his wife had a traumatic brain injury Bad, bad J.Lo! Just remember, this is a singing competition (to quote Randy Jackson), not a pity party.
And worst of all, so much time was spent on the dramatic buildup to J. Lo’s tearfest and her threat to leave the show that there was no time for Durbin to come in and receive the judge’s final verdict. That will have to wait for tonight. Stay tuned.
