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October 5, 2004

Idol’s Choice Wrap by Gadge

As I was away and unable to hurriedly write down thoughts about Sunday night’s Idol program, the wonderful Gadge did it instead. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to access my email until this afternoon so it’s a little delayed - never mind! Enjoy Sunday night’s Idol wrap just a few days late - it’s delightful nonetheless.

Ricki-Lee - She’s not really done the ‘stand still and belt’ yet, and this was her demonstrating that can. Her performance of ‘I Have Nothink’ (at least, that’s how James said it - he really needs to iron out that particular annoying Aussieism) showed that’s she’s not just about the bopping, but can be a champion even without it. She was, at the start of the show, my pick to win it, and I think she’s definitely finals material.

Marty - I want Marty to sing Snow’s ‘Informer’, or scat, or indeed anything where the lyrics are unintelligible, because he enunciates everything so clearly that every word would be discernable. He’d be a great person to have for a karaoke party for that reason. His performances, though, have just gotten neater and neater, no matter his song choice. This was no exception, as Dicko and Mark pointed out - a song that required some abandon, some flair, some real rock vibe just carried the emotional heft of a Year 11 Poem set to music. I think he’s going this week.

Hayley - I was all proud of myself for noticing that, for Hayley, nothing except the voice comes naturally; everything else is really hard work. The Inside Idol show on Thursday really drove that home by showing how all her moves for Disco Night were very carefully choreographed beforehand. Mark and Dicko noticed the same thing, though, meaning my observation was right, but hardly my own. She is really trying, though, and she does have a strong voice, something the competition is emphasising, and for her more than anyone else I think her choice of song was a further challenge. One she met vocally, but not with the same emotional intesity as Casey brought to her George song. Still, I really liked that she performed it, and admire her efforts to continually strive for the greater and greater effort.

Daniel - I really like ‘Your Song’ - there’s something about the casual lyrics that makes the sentiment really resonate, for me. And Daniel got some of the power in there - but most of his work was done by the orchestra. Here and there I could here Opera Daniel come in, and a few times I noticed him moving into a note he’d tried to hit head-on, meaning that Mark was, once more, voicing some of my view. I’m just going to accept it now, that Mark has regained the sense he lost last year, and Marcia has decided to take the role of ‘crap judge’, and take it to heart. Daniel has a powerful voice that isn’t as accurate as it needs to be, and it’s beginning to show. We need another bottom three person, possibly two, and I think one might be him.

Chanel - They’re really setting Chanel up as the diva; where Casey is portrayed as, ‘Oh, she knows what she likes,’ Chanel was portrayed as, ‘She doesn’t take suggestions well.’ When the opening spiel had the, ‘Who will fall?’ moment, it was over a picture of Chanel. I’m getting the impression that there’s a movement against her because she knows her own mind so well. To me, however, it’s like if one of my singer friends entered the competition, and I wouldn’t strike her own instincts against her for the world. On Inside Idol, she was dismayed to find out there would be no backing vocals, as the harmonies are an important part of ‘Constant Craving’ - and she’s right, they are. But she countered that by making it this absolutely gorgeous number, and I’m with Dicko on the orchestra coming in almost being a disappointment, as she had the song completely at her mercy. Love her still, and though she probably won’t win, she won’t need to - she’s pretty damned fantastic on her own merits.

But that Marcia - it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve really noticed that she doesn’t like Chanel, and whoo boy. She can turn even a compliment into a scathing hatred, and it’s such an obvious thing when she loves every single other performer … except one. Perhaps it is the fact that Chanel is clearly not a belter, as she herself admitted. Perhaps, and I think this is more it, it’s because Dicko and Mark love Chanel so unabashedly. Marcia, it seems, is jealous of that, because amongst the by-now-standard not shutting up ever, she also made such a big thing about Chanel being a witch. Marcia and the show aside, I would buy a Chanel album, no questions asked, and will think she’s fabulous even if she were to come into my home and piss on my shoes.

Courtney - Courtney had the same problem as Chanel, a song that really lives on its harmonies but with no backing vocals. Chanel decided to rearrange the song; Courtney made do and turned it into his fairly standard pub song, albeit with a few extra high notes. I think Courtney’s revealed his limitations as a singer by now; a strong performer with a good sense of humour (which they made sure to highlight in his style snippet - the production company loves Courtney) but with a way of turning every song into a B+S Ball number. It’s a big B+S Ball he’s performing for, and you’ll not find much better - but it’s that type of singing nonetheless, and he just hasn’t broken out of it. He’s loved, so I reckon he’s safe for a bit longer, but he’ll have to go eventually.

Casey - Hayley reached the high notes in her George song; Casey owned them, and delivered a performance even better than her semi-final one, where people everywhere sort of went, ‘Oh, now I get it.’ She has a very natural talent, and given a chance to, she can really connect with a powerful song, as she did here. One of the top performances of the night, and I reckon she has to be safe after it. If we have to have touchdowns, and it seems Mark must, then this was one of them.

Anthony - I’ve been hard on this little tacker in the past, as have the judges. I still find him asexual, and a bit pageanty, and because he’s done many a talent competition in the past he’s very calculating in his approach to this one. That being said, he sounded completely different tonight, and in a good way. It was a fantastic performance in a totally different style to anything he’s done before, and I would reckon has guaranteed him a place in the final two. Not only did he sing the hell out of it, but he clearly connected with the song as well; not only did he look near tears at the end of it, but he sold what is undoubtedly a very treacly song (not that I’ve heard it before - Celine Dion? Andrea Bocelli? Bah) in a very genuine fashion. I adore Chanel, and loved Ricki-Lee’s and Casey’s performances, but this was clearly the performance of the evening.

Oh, and it never, ever gets said enough. Shut the hell up, Marcia.