American Idol: Shania Twain to the Rescue

I could feel — and almost HEAR — the country’s collective eye-roll (or maybe that was just me) when it was announced that this would be Shania Twain Week on “American Idol.”

We all liked Shania (and her shiny hair) just fine when she was a guest judge during the audition rounds, but after what has seemed like a particularly uninspired run of themes this season, we now had to deal with the “dreaded Country Week.” And not just country music — people either love it or they say things like, “I listen to everything but country” — but, specifically, the music of Shania Twain whose catalog, despite its phenomenal success, undoubtedly inspires its own eye-rolls.

The only upside I could see coming into Tuesday night’s performance, is that I’d have no trouble coming up with a headline for this recap. (“Twain Wreck”, “That Didn’t Impress Me Much”, etc.)

What I’m taking a REALLY long time to say is that I was pretty shocked by the fact that Shania Twain Week produced the best episode of the year for “American Idol.” (The fact that a lot of the season’s fat has been trimmed by now probably has something to do with it too, but I feel like giving Shania Twain — and her cargo pants/white blazer combo during the mentoring sessions — all the credit.)

In fact, this episode was so well-rounded that the season’s two prohibitive favorites probably gave the two least well-received performances.

Ok, so Lee DeWyze’s take on “You’re Still the One” was actually pretty well-received by the judges —it was mostly me that didn’t care for it. I agree with Simon, in theory, that the sweet and sensitive song was probably the best, most interesting match for Lee’s gruff tone. However, I just didn’t like the performance in practice, with Lee’s constipated (and often off-key) vocals clashing with the lovey-dovey lyrics. (Then again, I’m a well-documented hater of the Nickelback/Hinder School of Strained Singing.)

And not to go all “Idol” judge-y on you, but I think we can all agree that this wasn’t Crystal’s best performance. With that out of the way, I think the panel could’ve also mixed in some positive feedback after Crystal’s cover of “No One Needs to Know.” For example, I liked the fact that Crystal was the only contestant who really embraced the evening’s country theme (in all fairness, Randy actually pointed that out). I also appreciated her effortless command of staging and performance. In a season where too many contestants plant themselves on the edge of the stage or a stool with a guitar or wander aimlessly around and behind the judges (more on Siobhan later), I enjoyed the thought Crystal put into her scruffy little four-person band.

All that being said, Crystal should probably keep quiet during the judges’ critiques next week. It’s almost impossible to come off well by back-talking them, no matter how dopey they are. I understand her annoyance, but why not let the audience figure out that “bigger isn’t always better” for themselves?


With the favorites floundering, most of the competitors stepped their games up.

Casey James went back into “Jealous Guy” mode (hair down, seated close to the audience, rhythm guitar in hand) and probably delivered his best performance of the season with “Don’t.” I was also encouraged to hear that he went back and watched all his previous performances (it couldn’t have taken long, since they were basically the same thing) which led to his epiphany to switch things up a bit. A little self-awareness never hurt anyone.

Although the judges absolutely flipped for Aaron’s performance of “You’ve Got A Way,” I thought it was quite sleepy in the beginning before his strong finish. What’s not up for debate is the fact that (for better or worse) THIS is the kind of song and music he’ll be doing post-“Idol” (assuming he gets a record deal). In short, he SHOULD have been good — and he was. I also think dedicating the song to his mom probably earned him some votes and will keep him out of the bottom 3.

Michael Lynche’s rendition of “It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing” was absolutely lovely and he’s (thankfully) toned down the on-stage antics in recent weeks. I’m just not sure that Ellen’s Luther Vandross comparison (which was kind of spot-on) was a compliment for anyone wanting to make a relevant record in 2010.

Finally, there’s Siobhan, who closed out the show with an almost-rollicking rendition of “Any Man of Mine.” Once again, I wanted to like Siobhan more than I actually did. I turns out that my favorite thing about her performance was the fact that she actually picked an upbeat song for the “Idol” stage. (Isn’t Shania supposed to be a really dynamic live performer?)

Unfortunately, I wasn’t as big a fan of her semi-lethargic journey from the front of the stage, to the sway pit, to the runway behind the judges and back. I realize no one wants to wipe out while they’re singing live, but Siobhan’s tentative trip stood in contrast to the song’s lyrics and her characteristically-fierce vocals. As for that final yell — the first part of it was a bit painful, but I actually liked the falsetto and growl she threw in at the very end. I just wish the judges (other than Simon) had a bit more time to critique her beyond “that was good/fun.”

(Then again, my DVD’d episode of “Glee” got cut off for the second straight week, so maybe we didn’t need to hear more from the judges after all.
So what’d you think of this episode? Is Aaron Kelly “making love” to anyone? (Oh, Kara.) Will Crystal’s boyfriend ever put a ring on it? Finally, who do you think will go home? (I’ve got Casey, Siobhan and Michael in the bottom 3, with Big Mike going home.)