song choices Archives

American Idol 2011: What should the Top 9 sing this week?

This week the “American Idol” Top 9 are set to take on songs of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. No one is sure if that just means songs from any artist that has been inducted into the Hall of Fame or if it’s specifically from the Hall of Fame’s official “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll” list.

At any rate, that is a very broad list of songs. And who knows what they’re even allowed to sing. So from the 500 songs list, I’m just going to pick what I would like to hear them sing. As I said, the list is very broad, so I’ll pick a couple for each contestant.

(In random order)

*Pia Toscano, “River Deep Mountain High” by Ike and Tina Turner. She actually revealed this during last week’s performance episode. So unless will.i.am (who for some ridiculous reason apparently helped the contestants choose their songs) or the producers have forced her into something else, that should be what she’s singing. And that will be very interesting. It’s one of Tina’s most powerful songs (Ike doesn’t deserve any credit if you ask me). So Pia will finally give us something upbeat. And that’s a good thing. People are really tiring of the ballads.

*Scotty McCreery, “Suspicious Minds” by Elvis or “I Walk The Line” by Johnny Cash. We already know Scotty grew up an Elvis fan, so why not sing something by The King. But I now know Scotty’s formula, so chances are he’ll go directly to the couple of country singers who crossed over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Like Johnny Cash. Either of this songs would be a great fit for him.

*Casey Abrams , “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals or “Lola” by The Kinks. It’s hard to imagine what Casey will do. He’s one of the more unpredictable contestants. I’ve always wanted someone to sing Lola on “Idolm” so why not? Surely “American Idol” is ready for a song about a hot cross-dresser who can easily trick straight men into kissing her. It is 2011.

*Haley Reinhart, “Piece of My Heart” by Janis Joplin or “I Fall to Pieces” by Patsy Cline. She’s been compared to Janis, even though I don’t see/hear it AT ALL, but I think it would do her well to sing that or another song by Janis. Her rasp and growl would fit it nicely. As for the other, that’s one of those 500 songs. Patsy isn’t in the Hall of Fame, but the song is on that list. So that may or may not be an option. At any rate, Haley has reminded me of Patsy (way more than Janis) so that could be a good song for her to take on.

*Stefano Langone, “Stand by Me” by Ben E. King or something by Prince. I’d like to see Stefano step out and shake things up. “Stand by Me” he’d do beautifully, but how about “When Doves Cry” or anything else by Prince? That would be fun.

*Lauren Alaina, “Imagine” by John Lennon or “Son of a Preacher Man” by Dusty Springfield. I’d love to hear Lauren keep things slow one more week. I was really impressed with her “Candle in the Wind” last week, so I could hear her treating “Imagine” the same way. On the other hand, I could easily hear her doing “Son of A Preacher Man.” That’s certainly a song to bring in some votes.

*Jacob Lusk, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel or “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke or “There Goes My Baby” by The Drifters. I’m not really sure what Jacob should be singing. I picked these because they can all be easily turned into gospel songs and that seems to be his thing. I think he needs to be sure to pick songs people know. He’s going to start hitting the Bottom 3 pretty soon, so song choice will become very important for him.

*Paul McDonald, “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield or “The Weight” by The Band. These songs might not do Paul any favors as far as how well the bands are known. They’re REALLY great songs, though, and would be right up Paul’s alley, but I think he needs to do something major to stay away from the bottom this week. It’s going to get a lot tougher for some of these guys this week and Paul is in danger. He needs to wow us. He needs to take care of his voice, too. It seems as if its starting to wear.

*James Durbin, “Baba O’Riley” by The Who or “Back in Black” by AC/DC or “Rock N Roll All Night” by Kiss. I’d actually prefer for James to slow things down. But he’s such an entertainer, slowing things down could be his, well, downfall. Maybe he should keep it upbeat. Any of these songs or artists would suit him. “Baba O’Riley” David Cook did on his season, so maybe its too soon for that. And Adam Lambert did the whole Kiss thing. Maybe James will surprise us. I think he still has very little to worry about though. For now.

What do you think? Have any song suggestions for the Top 9?

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American Idol 2011: What the Top 11 should and shouldn’t do

The “American Idol” Top 11 are set to perform Motown hits and while this theme is a little less broad than birth years, it’s no easier to suggest what they should sing. But I’ve put together a list. I’ve also added in some side notes about what they should and shouldn’t do. And just for the fun of it again, (and to undoubtedly produce hateful comments from certain fans) I’ll place them in order from my favorite to least favorite):

*Paul McDonald – “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gay or “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by The Four Tops. I like Paul and I like the Four Tops’ song a lot so I’d love to hear his spin on that one. But I think “What’s Going On” might be more suitable for his style and range.

*Pia Toscano – “Heat Wave” by Martha and the Vandellas. She needs to speed things up. To me it seems like she can sing anything, so why isn’t she? Last week she pretended to sing an upbeat song but she really didn’t.

*Stefano Langone – “I Second That Emotion” by Smokey Robinson. I keep hearing “Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder, Stevie Wonder.” But hasn’t he already done enough Stevie? I think it’s time for Smokey.

*Scotty McCreery – “Money” by Barrett Strong. Scotty is probably the toughest to pick a song for because of his country slant. But you can take any song and make it sound country. Especially when you have a voice like his. I think “Money”  could really suit him. Or maybe “Papa Was A Rolling Stone.” Maybe.

*James Durbin – “Signed, Sealed and Delivered” by Stevie Wonder. I listened to a lot of songs trying to figure out what James should sing before deciding on this. I think it has the best energy and possibility for where James likes to take a song. However, I won’t be surprised if he goes with “The Tacks of My Tears” by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles (in the style of Adam Lambert).

*Thia Megia  – “Don’t Leave Me This Way” Thelma Houston. Thia HAS to do this song. She has to do an upbeat song. She said last week she could do an upbeat song, so I’m holding her to it. This is a great and underrated song and I think it could really push her above some of the other contestants.

*Lauren Alaina – “You Keep Me Hanging On” by The Supremes. I think I feel Lauren doing a ballad this week, but I’d still like her to sing this song. It has a young feeling and could be fun. Aside from song choice, what Lauren needs to watch is her immaturity. She and Thia are the same age, but Thia’s maturity is so far above Lauren’s it’s insane. Lauren just needs to not act like she’s 12 for five minutes.

*Haley Reinhart – “Love Hangover” by Diana Ross. I personally think this should be her only choice. I can really hear her pulling out the sultry and blues vibe she’s got going.

*Casey Abrams – “Reach Out I’ll Be There” by the Four Tops or “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gay. Notice his choices from me are the same as Paul’s. I think Casey could do great things with the Four Tops’ song but it might be time for him to slow things down and soften up a bit. I know he’s so low on my list because of all the angry screaming. He’s very talented, but in order to add more fans, I think he needs to soften a bit.

*Naima Adedapo – “Living For The City” by Stevie Wonder. From all her pre-Idol footage, this song kind of reminds me of her. She seems to have had a bit of a tough life so I could see her relating to this song. And that’s something she needs to do. She needs to really feel the song and make us feel it. And she REALLY needs to slow things down. A ballad could save her this week. Otherwise, she’s probably going home.

*Jacob Lusk – “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” Marvin Gaye. Jacob was a tough one. I picked this song because it’s a fun song that doesn’t need to be overdone which is his trademark. He needs to hold back and stop over-singing songs.

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