E-MAIL
IM
DIGG THIS
FACEBOOKChris Richardson is awesome! He has it all; talent, great vocals, charming, good looking, all American kind of guy.
The man is the best of the best. He Rocks!
Sorry Bunch of Singers Kick Off American I-DULL’s Performance Round
Wednesday February 21, 2007
Chris Richardson
Courtesy Fox
Wednesday February 21, 2007
Courtesy Fox
After weeks of waiting to see who finally squeaked by Simon, Randy and Paula’s Top 24 cut, we at last caught our first real glimpse of the best America has to offer. But if season six’s performance round kickoff was any indication, it’s going to be a long, bumpy ride until May’s finale.
A self-assured Rudy Cardenas kicked off the performance round, backed by Idol’s house band for a bland rendition of Edgar Winter’s “Free Ride.” The tune was a crowd pleaser, but not so in the judges’ eyes. Randy imagined himself “in any bar in America,” while smarmy Simon – who was surprisingly on point last night with his commentary – told an anxious Rudy he worried he would “get lost in the mix.” You heard the man, Cardenas, now get cracking on those vocals or you’ll be sent a-packing.
Just as Simon looked ready to snooze after a string of theme park-style performances, a ray of light came in the form of Justin Timberlake look-alike Chris Richardson, who put a refreshing spin on Gavin DeGraw’s “I Don’t Wanna Be.” Crowd-pleaser Chris got high marks from the judges, especially after the Virginian’s so-so song selections in Hollywood. In any case, Simon’s sure he’ll secure the Claymate, er, female, voting contingent.
But with the good ultimately comes the bad, and this time around, the good singers fell fast (yes, even Sundance and shy Sanjaya Malakar!) while the poor performers really stepped up their game. There was no theme for last night’s performances, but we at Usmagazine.com want to warn the contestants that cabaret-style crooning just won’t cut it.
And while we’re offering some constructive criticism to the crew, let’s not forget our peanut gallery (that means you too, Seacrest!), who were in rare form last night. However, it wasn’t Paula’s commentary that had us cringing. Sir Cowell stirred the pot with Seacrest a bit following Chris Sligh’s performance, leaving fans wondering if their bitter banter was scripted or if there’s actually some bad blood there. If you missed it, here’s the Cliff Notes version of their lovers’ spat:
Ryan’s retort after Simon called the host “sweetheart”: “Don’t call me sweetheart. We don't have that kind of relationship and I don't want that kind of relationship. Why are you being so negative?
Simon: “I'm not being negative. Unlike you, I actually respect the audience at home.”
Ryan: “I think you like to hear yourself speak.”
Simon: "It has nothing to do with that. I don't believe in patronizing people. I don't believe in lying to them. I think people will listen to me and say those weren't the best vocalists we've ever had."
Ryan: “You’re a little off your game tonight.”
The verdict: Simon: 1, Seacrest: 0. Try again next week, boys.
Talk to Us: Which contestants should get the boot this week?
|
Posted by Allison Corneau at 10:30 am ET
22 Comments
8:17 AM
Anonymous Says:
6:54 PM
Brianna Says:
Chris Richardson ROCKS! and guess what he is my cousin He will make it through to the top! GO CHRIS!!!!
5:44 PM
Anonymous Says:
I thought Chris Richardson was by far the best!
7:58 AM
TexasContessa Says:
trixie, you have a good point. in the past they've always mentioned that some people didn't have the right look. i think that's starting to change now. you are seeing people who aren't conventionally "pretty" get through on their talent, and you are now seeing people of size being given a chance. thank God for that, because there is so much genuine talent out there that has been overlooked because they didn't fall into a certain category. it's about dang time!
7:55 AM
TexasContessa Says:
i guess I should clarify, I like chris sligh. I didn't realize there was another chris...i always thought of him as the timberlake lookalike :/ hahah
7:53 AM
TexasContessa Says:
i think the weakest people this week were antonella, alaina, paul and sanjaya. that's unfortunate because I think they all have incredible talent, but in my opinion they were the weakest singers this week. my favorites to win at this point are melinda, lakisha, blake and chris. I also really like brandon, jordin, gina and phil. I hope sundance can get it together and goes far in this competion since he's a pretty good singer and he lives just a few miles up the road from me, literally. i think most people always pull for the local LOL no matter what. he started off very strong, but it seems he's having problems lately getting it together. there are some there that I think are way too good for this competition and will go on to be offered much better contracts than even AI provides (brandon, lakisha, jordin and melinda come to mind), but since they are in it, I hope one of them wins. I guess it's early in the competion to predict a win, but yeah, those are my faves at this point.
1:01 AM
Julia Says:
LAKISHA, LAKISHA, LAKISHA, THE WORLD'S GONNA LOVE YOU. COMPETITION OVER. THIS GIRL ROCKS. SENT CHILLS UP MY SPINE.
AMERICA, THIS IS YOUR NEXT AMERICAN IDOL.
11:34 PM
Anonymous Says:
The women tonight kicked the guys butts!
8:32 PM
Anonymous Says:
to the 3rd anonymous below me: um, have you ever considered that "your brother" wasnt just good enough?
7:42 PM
Anonymous Says:
I am a huge AI fan, but last night, I did not enjoy it. At all. Hope it's better tonight or else this show is in trouble. I do love my Simon though.
6:42 PM
Anonymous Says:
BLAKE LEWIS AND CHRIS RICHARDSON WERE GOOD, THE REST WAS HOHUM...... IT WAS SO BORING I DONT THINK WATCH THE GIRLS TONITE... I ALMOST FELL ASLEEP. DID YOU CATCH THAT RYAN WAS GOING TO HUG BLAKE ANS KISS KISS. bleep ALERT ON BOTH GUYS, MOSTLY RYAN THO..
4:54 PM
Anonymous Says:
This show is such crap. My brother auditioned for American Idol and didn't even make it to the judges. He has just finished a long run as champion of Beacher's Madhouse, has a concert in Santa Cruz in March and is soon to be touring with Uncle Kracker. He was cut but these jokes make it. I'm telling you, the show is CRAP.
4:18 PM
penny Says:
love chris sligh and beat-boxing blake. the rest of the evening was a complete snoozer. why on earth would anyone start the season off with sappy ballads? 'back at one' by the brian mcknight wanna-be was pathetic. he copied note for note how brian sang it. no one really stood out, except chris and blake...i think, anyway.
4:18 PM
Anonymous Says:
This is supposed to be a competition about singing and the judges are supposed to know how to pick good singers....WHATEVER!! I don't think ANY of the guys are really all that great, all mediocre and the dorkiest looking group yet, with maybe the exception of Blake.
4:17 PM
Trixie Says:
I have watched every season of Idol and last night I fell asleep less than half way through the show. BORING! I am not even looking forward to tonight. There has got to be better people out there. I know from experience that they don't care how good someone can sing, they have to have the look.
4:15 PM
Anonymous Says:
i honestly thought sanjaya wasn't all too bad. incredibly shy, yes. but his tone and pitch were A LOT better than the others. he just needs to work on his performance style and stage presence. he should learn from chris richardson...he had great energy!
3:59 PM
Anonymous Says:
I could see in the Hollywood round that this season is going to be bad, just like season 3.
3:59 PM
Anonymous Says:
Along the lines of the whole Ryan and Simmon fued did anyone else catch it at the end of the show were Ryan thanked all the judges except Simmon?
3:10 PM
Kaye Says:
I think people are finally getting bored with the show. I think some of those performances would have been rated as "great" a few seasons back. I personally enjoyed Blake the most. I was not expecting that out of him. I hope the girls bring it tonight.
3:03 PM
Lisa Says:
I still like Chris Sligh but they all really sucked it up. No rockers in the lot..Sad sad sad.
2:54 PM
Kate Says:
I liked Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson the best, so far.
2:53 PM
Kate Says:
The boys really sucked last night! If that's all they have to offer, it's going to be a LONG season of snooze!!
