It's almost the finale, woo-hoo! Only one more night of the dullest season evah, yeah! A duel to the finish, yee-haw!Right.
The opening montage is kind of fun, seeing Lee and Crystal on Day 1, looking geeky and hopeful and so very, very young. Man, this show is not good for the skin. Lee went from dewy youth to middle-aged man in a few short months.
During those early days, who predicted that it would be Lee and Crystal at the end? Crystal, yes, but Lee? It took me half a season to remember how to pronounce his last name.
And Lee's singing first, with his favorite song from the entire season, which to my total astonishment is not "Treat Her Like a Lady," the performance where everything changed for him, but "The Boxer," a song from one of the episodes I missed (Songs of Inspiration Night? whatev). And what a weird choice. The judges have been urging Lee to really break out and go for it all season, so he sings a sleepy tune from lo these many decades ago, brings nothing really new to it, and encourages us all to take a collective catnap. I guess if you're a Lee fan this was good; he didn't do anything wrong, per se. But am I jumping to my feet, as I did after nearly every song during last year's sing-off? (Ah, Kris. Ah, Adam. Sigh.) No sirree, Bob! I am not jumping.
"This night's gonna come down to a duel to the finish!" Randy orates nonsensically, as I howl. Well, that was fun.
Crystal sings "Me and Bobby McGee," which I was glad about, because I also missed this one the first time (how could I have missed so many shows this season when I feel like I spent 99 hours with this crowd???), and she's fine, though I can barely understand a word (it's hot here, I have the fan on; is that it?). Not her greatest performance, but fine.
Why did both kids pick songs with long strings of nonsense syllables? Of all the songs from their entire season . . . Oh, youth today.
Hey, Simon doesn't declare the winner of Round 1! Though I loathe this tic of his, I am strangely LOST without it. (Shout-out!)
Lee's next song is "Everybody Hurts," which I am un-sick of and eager to hear Lee sing. I think he sounds quite beautiful, and I like his more up-tempo version. The judges don't think his voice sounded as pretty as I did (I long for Harry Connick at this moment, yelling at the camera, "Pitchy is not a word!") but they're generally more pleased, 'cause now he's in it to win it, instead of — I dunno, in it for the cute clothes?
(Hey, did you hear that Kara's lobbying for Harry Connick Jr. to replace Simon? Now that, I might actually watch.)
Crystal sings "Black Velvet," which I don't know — am I really the only one? This show has made me face the fact that I know maybe 10 songs written after my formative years. But I can rock the standards, daddy-o! Anyway, she sounds great but is wearing a dress cut very badly for her, which I find distracting. Nothing about the cut of Lee's outfit distracted me, so maybe I'll give Round 2 to Lee, but just barely. By a hemline.
Lee's Crappy Coronation Song is called "Beautiful Day," and as CCSs go, it's not that terrible. We've all heard worse. He does a perfectly nice job with it.
[Update: Apparently this is a well-known U2 song. Oy. See "I only know 10 songs," above.]
Crystal's CCS is, hmm, I can't read my notes. Something about a mountain? It is likewise un-terrible, and she sounds really gorgeous. The judges go Lady Gaga for her, and it looks like Crystal's won it. Well, in the judges' minds anyway, but what do they know, they picked Adam last year. I'm not bitter.
Simon's parting words to Crystal are very sweet, and I was touched.
During Lee's and Crystal's final interviews, I'm reminded anew what a dull, inarticulate group this was. "Why'd you choose that song, Idol-ette?" "Well, it's about dreams, and I have dreams, and so it really spoke to me. Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't have a dream!"
(Because, that means you're not getting enough REM sleep and you will DIE. But I'm betting that's not what they mean.)
So that was our show. Tomorrow night we say goodbye to Sime and crown a winner. Wonder which event will seem BIGGER?
Lady Chardonnay, palpitating (not) from all the excitement (not), and out! (yes!)
3 comments:
You've never heard "Beautiful Day??" Wowza.
Also, Crystal's song, "Up To the Mountain," is by Patty Griffin. Kelly Clarkson also covered it at the finale 2 years ago. It was actually written about Martin Luther King, Jr., so it's a far cry from flying over rainbows and shit like that.
Please, Lady C, keep a-blogging once Idol is done for the season, perhaps on a separate blog? I want to know everything about you!
A few quick words:
Harry Connick Jr. is a New Orleans boy and I think I would have had an accent like his if my dad was a New Orleanian rather than a Californian.
I hear that Black Velvet song ALL THE TIME on the Internet radio station I listen to (a mix of 70s and 80s). I think I would know the U2 song if I heard it but I'm not sure.
Your dreams question description reminds me of the questions contestants get asked on Dancing with the Stars by the hostess Brooke. Such as "Did you hope to score higher on your samba?" My dream (get it?) answer: "No, Brooke, we were actually hoping to get a lower score."
Tata!
Lady Darcy
I knew it would be Lee all the way! The funny thing about this show is that, over the last few years, the "winner" of the finale night hasn't been the winner of the whole thing ... remember Simon basically gave David Archuleta the winner's tiara based on his performance at the finale, and then had to publicly eat some humble pie when (my boyfriend) David Cook assumed his rightful place as America's Idol?
But gawd, what a forgettable bunch. With the exception of Lacey and Siobhan, I couldn't remember the name of a single one of this year's contestants when they all came on stage.
Post a Comment