As soon as Jennifer Lopez said, "James has not blown one week," I immediately started to worry. The pessimist in me cried out, "Don't make such a blanket statement! You're inviting trouble!"
Unfortunately James did have his weakest night this past week. Luckily he still received good judges' comments, and some pundits still ranked his performances as some of the best of the night. But he received a lot of criticism as well.
Each contestant sang two songs, a "new" one from the last several years, and an "old" one. Old and New were not specifically defined. I think "old" was supposed to be from the 60's, although the song James chose was from 1970.
For his first song, James chose "Closer to the Edge," from 30 Seconds to Mars, the band started by the actor Jared Leto. Its a rock song, but not metal. James gave another energetic performance, running through the audience, slapping hands, and urging everyone to stand up and scream. He was wearing what appeared to be a custom made jacket/vest that said "Give Metal a Chance," and he started the song with his back facing the audience so the camera could capture the lettering. The performance was good, but the song starts off in a rather low register for James, and some people felt his big scream in the middle was off.
For his second song, James chose "Without You," by Badfinger. When I heard that, I immediately freaked out. Don't get me wrong, I love that song. But "Without You" has been convered by three of the biggest voices in music - Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, and Clay Aiken. Kelly performed it in her season of Idol. There is no doubt that James is a great singer with an impressive range, but I really worried about him singing a song that was such a hit in particular for Mariah Carey.
To complicate the matter, the song made James extremely emotional during rehearsals. He cried when he heard it and could not handle singing it. All during the taped piece, I kept hoping that we would be told that James had decided to sing another song. There are so many "old" songs that he could have chosen. Anything by Zeppelin would have been great. But I know James likes to surprise us. I also know how important it is for him to connect emotionally to the song.
The performance was beautiful because of its emotional quality. James barely got through it and cried openly at the end and during the judges' comments, which were very supportive. But the emotion did affect the vocal. I love James' heart and feel priviledged that he shares so much of himself with the audience and isn't afraid to bare his soul. And at the same time, American Idol is still a singing competition. He was able to hold it together enough to deliver a good vocal, and I do think he succeeded in making it different enough from the Mariah version. It was definitely the most emotional performance ever on Idol, and one that will be remembered. So in the end the gamble paid off I think.
Luckily James was safe, and even avoided the bottom two. But Scotty and Haley each had a very strong performance last week. And Lauren's first trip to the bottom two could energize her fan base to vote harder. James is going to have to come roaring back this next week. Randy and Jennifer both told him that the competition is his. Now its up to him...and his fans...to make it happen for him.
A Fan
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