May 5 , 2004 - Big Band Fever

Some people chose to do classic Big Band songs. Others did show tunes or maybe a Big Band version of a popular song. Now that there are only five finalists, they each got to perform two songs, one that meant a lot to them and one for fun.

Diana DeGarmo started off the evening with "Someone to Watch Over Me." It had a very Patsy Cline feel, but it was a little flat. She dedicated the song to her grandpa and to veterans and soldiers. Then she did "Come on Get Happy," which was quintessential Diana: super sweet, super spunky and totally uninteresting.

Judge Randy Jackson said he's a fan of hers and that she's a seasoned talent. Nice judge Paula Abdul agreed, calling her a classy young lady, and Simon Cowell started out by making clear he hadn't chosen her dress. This was because of an exchange last week, when he'd given her a zero on her dress and she'd joked he should help her choose her next dress.

Simon agreed with Randy that the style of music suits her, but he said he had some reservations about a 16-year-old sounding like a 50-year-old in a contemporary singing competition. "You're an old song," he told her.

George Huff was next, starting off with "Dancing Cheek to Cheek," an unusual choice for him. He doesn't usually go with romantic songs but generally tries to have a little fun with things. His second song was "What a Wonderful World," resisting the impulse to do a Louis Armstrong imitation.

Randy said they were two great songs and that it was a good but safe performance. Paula said he was truly enchanting. And Simon said that he thought Big Band night was about being cool and that this performance didn't live up to that. It was something, he said, you could hear on any cruise ship.

LaToya London knocked it out of the park, starting out with "Too Close for Comfort." She did a very classy, jazzy version of it. Although she got a little tongue-tied in her introduction, she smiled and got through it and launched into the Barbara Streisand classic from "Funny Girl," "Don't Rain on My Parade."

This, Randy said, was the kind of music LaToya was meant to sing. He said her personality really came through. Paula said this could be another type of album she could sell down the road and that , if she were an Olympic athlete, she would have just won her gold. Simon prefaced his remark by saying it was a compliment and said he gave it 10 out of 10 for a great Broadway performance. Normally, Simon calling someone a Broadway performer is his way of saying they're not right for this competition, but given this particular night's focus, it was, indeed, a compliment.

Next up was Jasmine Trias, who did "The Way You Look Tonight." She showed some range in it, particularly near the end, finishing up with some higher notes. That song she dedicated to her family. Then she did a jazzy version of "It's Almost Like Being in Love" from "Brigadoon."

Randy felt it fell a little short. He was looking for something that made him say, "Dude!" Paula said that Jasmine has grown over the competition. Simon disagreed. He said that she hasn't grown and that this was the time in the competition when she had to pull something out of her hat, but she hadn't. He called it a pleasant performance but nothing special.

Finally, Fantasia Barrino did "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," a really unusual choice. It's a Queen song with a little bit of a doo-wop feel, and yet she jazzed it up and did it as a Big Band number, and it worked! It was out there but fun. She joked that song reminds her of her little brother, because he drives her crazy. This joke fell a little flat. But she dedicated her second song to her daughter, "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?," a song popular with such great singers as Frank Sinatra and Barbara Streisand. That performance was pure emotion, a real heartfelt performance.

Randy said that she'd sung one of his favorite songs of all time and that it was unbelievable. Paula said that it brought her to tears and that it was beautiful. And Simon said it was clear that she and LaToya are in a different league.

Now, it remains to be seen how this will influence the voting, but at the end of the show, when host Ryan Seacrest was announcing the numbers to call to vote, he told viewers they could vote as many times as they liked for their favorites. If this was the policy before, it was never advertised. I always assumed you could dial in more than once from the same phone number, because otherwise how would they deal with the fact that multiple people could be watching at the same address?

So is it possible that you'll see artificially inflated votes from, say, everyone in Hawaii sitting down and dialing constantly for two hours for Jasmine Trias? I don't know. If that does happen, though, then George Huff will probably be the one to go, because I don't think he has as wide of a support base as Jasmine at this point.

And Diana DeGarmo, bland and insipid as she is, has proven her singing ability and will probably score some votes. But unless there's another super upset, Fantasia and LaToya are at the top of the heap right now.

The most likely candidates to leave are probably George and Jasmine. Much as I like George for his personality, it's getting to the point where I have to admit he's not as strong of a singer. I'll throw my support behind Fantasia, who has a very unusual voice. LaToya is a great performer, a great singer. She's got great pipes and is becoming more comfortable on stage. But Fantasia makes you sit up and say "Wow."

There's no telling which one will pull it out at the end. More than ever, their individual performances will really begin to matter from here on out. The bar has been set high; they have to keep it high, keep meeting it, and have fun, too. I have no doubts both of them will.

Other Musings by Alyce on American Idol:

American Idol Index

Moral:
If you're cool enough, you can turn anything into a Big Band song.