American Idol: Hello, Goodbye

You’re not going to believe this, but the contestants on “American Idol” once again took on the Beatles songbook again. (Again!)

That opening sentence was only slightly more redundant than the show’s fixation on the Fab Four’s music. It’s not that I don’t respect the Beatles’ music, it’s just that I was naïve enough to believe that all the much-hyped new changes this season might include a more varied selection of music.

Then again, I’m much more impressed by this year’s group of contestants (especially compared to last season’s turd-y bunch), so I figured this might not be that bad. The verdict: Um, I don’t really know because the show inexplicably decided to dedicate an hour to the music of the Beatles, and an hour to contestants runway-walking down a gigantic airplane hangar in slow motion.

Let’s jump right into last night’s episode, starting at the end.

- I believe Jennifer Lopez’s tears over Chris Medina’s elimination were genuine. (Insert your own joke about J.Lo isn’t a good enough actress to fake that. Har-har.)

When she was crying about the fact that she didn’t feel like she’d properly explained to Chris why they’d let him go, it was an ugly cry. It wasn’t a “stare stoically ahead while a single tear runs down your cheek” cry. It was a “stare straight down at your belly button because you can’t stop crying and you know your face looks terrible” cry.

- In a related story, it was Chris’ time to go. Based on what we’ve seen, the guy is near the top of the heap as a human being. As a singer, he had no business being in the top 24.

(Let’s hop back to the first hour, where the 61 remaining contestants performed in the Las Vegas stage of the Cirque Du Soleil “Love” show, featuring Beatles music.)

- I’m not really sure what good came out of having music industry titan Jimmy Iovine drop by and offer his thoughts. From what we saw, he came in and either told the contestants that they sucked or that the were singing the wrong song. How about some actually guidance…

- …from someone other than Peggi Blu, the Bobby Knight of vocal coaches (She really had it in for Thia Megia.) Despite an underwhelming performance on stage, Thia Megia is still in the running towards becoming America’s Next Top Idol, while her duet partner Melinda Ademi didn’t make the cut. At least she didn’t die on stage.

- Seriously, what IS the deal with James Durbin’s tail of fabric? Is that supposed to make him look like a “rocker”? (His “Get Back” duet with Stefano Langone, the first performance of the evening, was adequate, at best.)

- My favorite performances of the Beatles round: Robbie Rosen, Jordan Dorsey and Aaron Sanders’ take on “Got To Get You Into My Life”, the last performance we saw. Robbie was the standout, and Jordan was, thankfully, not a monster; Kendra Chantelle and Paul McDonald’s “Blackbird” duet. Sure the most interesting thing about Kendra is her great name, but Paul’s quiet, slightly creepy vocals intrigued me (a dash of Ray LaMontagne, and a LOT of James Morrison); I also REALLY enjoyed Tim Halperin and Julie Zorilla’s keyboard-tastic take (pictured, right) on “Something.” They may not have been sensational individually, but they were great together. I feel like I could’ve watched them for a while longer.

- Performances that stood out for not so great reasons: Scotty McCreery, Denise Jackson and Lauren Alaina get points for incorporating that phone booth on stage but lose them for their cheesy choreography on “Hello, Goodbye.” (I feel like that performance could and SHOULD have been scored to “Yakety Sax.”) Haley Reinhart, Naima Adedapo and Jacob Lusk have a ton of talent, but their group number was kind of a mess. Naima was the best, but I feel like if Jacob and Haley were ever to do a duet together, it might take them 15 minutes to finish a three-minute song with all the over-singing they do. (Still, I kinda like Haley…Jacob, not as much.)

Everyone else fell somewhere between competently energetic to frustratingly decent. (Though I feel like there’s some fun material of Casey Abrams and Chris Medina performing on the cutting room floor.)

- Among the people we said goodbye to in Vegas that we’ll miss: Molly DeWolf Swenson, Carson Huggins, Caleb Hawley. Molly, especially, was one of my early favorites and I’m bummed that we didn’t hear a note from her after her audition.

- Among the people we said goodbye to in Vegas that I WON’T miss? Newlywed Ashley Sullivan. I’m just done with her. And now that one of the camera guys served as her wedding witness, I really hope the show is done with her too.

- Is getting married in the same place where Britney Spears had her quickie and regretful Vegas wedding really something to be proud of?

- Why an enormous hangar for the top 24 announcement? Why not at least turn on those biplanes while the contestants were performing for the judges one last time to get some dramatic wind action? I have so many questions!

- Also, it’s pretty cool that we have the ability to hear the contestants’ thoughts as they march down the hanger to hear their fate. It must be pretty empty in those heads judging by the mild echo we’re getting.

- Clint Jun Gamboa continued his contrition tour. I mean, yeah, he was kind of a dick to Jacee Badeaux (the equivalent of punching a Care Bear in the stomach), but I’m over it. Will people forgive him though? What if the producers set it up so that the last spot in the finals came down to him and Jacee?

- So far, these five people are in the top 24: Clint, Naima Adedapo (fabulously overdressed) Paul McDonald (fabulously AND ridiculously overdressed), Haley Reinhart (dressed like a normal person) and Ashton Jones (lame fakeout).

- We watched these people get cut: Hollie Cavanaugh (rapidly improving singing wasn’t enough — maybe now she can improve on moving her shoulders when she walks), Lakeisha Lewis (actually seemed like a pretty strong singer), Deandre Brackensick (thought he had tons of star power, but would almost certainly have had to drop his cumbersome last name) Alex Ryan (who?!) and Chris Medina.

So what’d you think of this episode? Is Peggi Blu’s career as a vocal coach over? Where can I get a sequined suit with flowers on it? Finally, what other “shocking” eliminations do you see going down tonight?