Thursday, May 08, 2008

Back to Busking...


It took no Einstein, or crystal ball to predict who'd get the footprint-on-the-ass on this week's Idol. Dreadful, dreadlocked Jason Castro-- who relied on sheer cuteness to get him this far, got bumped after crapping out a version of the Bob Marley classic "I Shot the Sheriff", then proceeded to mangle Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man". Bo Bice, my personal pick for season 4's Idol, summed it up pretty well when he commented on the decision to let this season's contestants play their instruments--it's OK to an extent, but some performers hide behind it. Right on the money, Bo... Jason C was a one-trick pony, and basically gave us the same performance every week. Essentially displaying none of the versatility that is required of all Idol aspirants, Jason brought his subway busking-style performances to the Idol stage relentlessly until I think even he himself couldn't believe he'd lasted that long.
As a final 10 contestant, he's earned himself a place on the American Idol tour, so concert-goers will be treated to more of his repetitive musical musings. I'm not sure how many songs they allow these performers to solo on, but I think a better venue for Jason would be on the downtown platform of the 1/9 trains in Times Square. It would be perfect--these trains go right down to Greenwich Village! Utterly appropriate, and a great audience for Mr. Castro.
OK, so that's settled... now let's focus our efforts on that other one-trick-pony, David Archuletta. He sings just like he talks--boring, yawning; always schmaltzy ballads. Another crappy performer propped up by the pubescent-girl vote. Syesha's very sexy, and I can see her in an acting career, probably musicals and musical theater. I even wouldn't be too disappointed if she won the whole Idol pie. But I think the deserving winner this year is David Cook. He's talented, versatile, and interprets his cover tunes in a very creative and personal way. He also displays his rock-n-roll roots, without being a complete sell-out (as much as a show like this will allow). OK, there's only two more weeks of Idol, and this season really did prove to be a snore. Let's hope that next season will give us a little something more. And, keep the instruments at home, kids. I don't really think it worked, David Cook aside. Let's get another Melinda Doolittle onstage next season. She was the best, and most talented performer that ever set foot on the American Idol stage.

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