The Unfiltered Ramblings of a DVR Addict

I said yesterday that I really thought Grand Ole Opry Week would be the end of Anoop Desai.  Damn was I wrong.

Anoop got up the and sang the hell out of some Willie Nelson.  I would argue that if he wasn’t the best, he was among the best.

The performances were all over the place last night.  Let’s start at the beginning.

1. Michael Sarver- I really expected big things from Michael.  This guy has country music written all over him.  He is a rough-neck, he’s from Jasper, Texas (which I’ve been to, and let me tell you, in Jasper, country is king), and he just exudes down home country goodness.  All that being said, Michael was just a little boring last night.  He took a very upbeat Garth Brooks song and made it boring.  He could go home tonight, but even if he doesn’t he’s not long for this competition.
2. Allison Iraheta- I honestly don’t know what to think of this girl.  She’s only 16, and there is no doubt that she has some pipes on her but I’m just not buying what she is selling.  
3. Kris Allen- I really like this guy.  I don;t think he’s going to win American Idol, but I think he is really likable and probably pretty marketable.  He also sang a Garth Brooks song last night, To Make you Feel My Love.  I thought it great.  I like him with the guitar, but as crazy Paula put it, it was nice to see him without it.
4. Lil Rounds- I’m not on the Lil Rounds band-wagon.  Not even a little bit.  I thought one of the funniest things about last night was the fact that Simon refused to call her Lil.  Sure she can sing, but I refuse to root for anyone named Lil Rounds.  Little was having an off night and every one told her so.  I think Simon was dead on when he said she sounded like a girl asked to sing at a wedding.
5. Adam Lambert- This was honestly the worst performance I’ve ever seen on American Idol.  Adam isn’t one of my favorite contestants, but there is no denying he is a front runner, especially after last weeks performance.  This week as just plain horrible.  He did a very strange version of Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.”  He took a classic song and made it into bad, homoerotic theatre.  It is a good thing that Johnny Cash is already dead, because if he wasn’t, that performance might have killed him.  I think after last night Adam deserves to go home.  There is a good chance that he might get the low number of votes tonight, but if he does, I think the judges will use their save and bring him back.
6. Scott Macintyre- Scott was back behind the piano this week, and Paula wasn’t happy about it.  Me, I think that he is great back there and he should always try to incorporate it in ever performance.  Simon was disagreed with Paula and said that you wouldn’t say that to Elton John or Billy Joel.  Scott was good, but he’s not going to win this thing.  I’d read complaints that he needed to let someone style him better, and someone obviously took that to heart because for the first time, he looked like a contestant on American Idol last night.He’s not going home tonight, but I wonder how much further he’s going to get.
7. Alexis Grace- Alexis was another one who didn’t capitalize on her great performance last week.  She sang some Dolly Parton, and it kind of came across as karaoke.  I don’t think she has anything to worry about, but she is going to have to figure out what she did last week and replicate it.  The judges want to see that bad girl side, and this wasn’t it.
8. Danny Gokey- Let’s face it.  At this point, this really is Danny’s contest to lose.  He’s got a good look, he’s a wonderful performer with a great voice, and he has a back story that can touch the heart of America.  He wasn’t at his best last night, but his version of “Jesus Take the Wheel” was very good, and head and shoulders above his closest competitor up to this point, Adam.
9. Anoop Desai- Yesterday I would have told you that Anoop was going home tonight.  Today, I feel the exact opposite.  No one has a better chance of staying than Anoop.  He blew the roof off the house last night with his version of Willie Nelson’s “You Were Always On My Mind.”  He’s not going to be our next American Idol, but I do think that he is entertaining, and something we’ve never had on AI before.
10. Megan Joy Corkery- I really like Megan, but I don’t think that we’ve really seen her do anything for the last two weeks.  I know she is the contestant of choice over at VoteForTheWorst.com, but I don’t really think she is the worst in this competition.  I didn’t like her song or what she looked like last night, but I would like to see her stay around awhile longer.  She, like Anoop, is a breath of fresh air in the competition.
11. Matt Giraud- Matt is another one that I like.  I thought the comparison to Michael Buble was a great one.  I really like that so many of these performers play instruments and don’t just sing.  I think it makes them a little more appealing, and obviously less one dimensional.

I don;t have any idea who’s going tonight.  If I had my way, I’d send Adam Lambert after that horrible performance.  Deep down I don’t know if it will be him.  As I already said, I don’t think the judges will let him go even if he is voted off, but it would be a shame to see them have to save someone so early.  If I was a betting man I guess I would say that Michael Sarver is out of here.

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