Lil Rounds – “I Surrender” by Celine Dion
Celine Dion. Great. Shove a corkscrew in my nostril. Punch me in the face with a porcupine. This, however, is the perfect kind of song for Lil, because she can just sing loud the entire time. Which she does, showing off the big voice that the judges love so much. Lil does not know how to build a song. She sang it fine, though. We've seen this type of performance infinite times on Idol.
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Randy didn't like the song choice, but through the performance was good. Kara loved the pipes that Lil showed off. Paula wants to see a younger Lil Rounds. Simon didn't like it too much. Thought it was safe. Thought it sounded like a wedding performance.
Adam Lambert - "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry
This is a ballsy song choice. If you don't like Over The Top Adam, you probably won't like this. Adam is rocking the pompadour tonight. If possible, this arrangement is even more funkier than the original. Dirty funky. He really chops up the chorus and makes it own. He spends the second half just breaking it down, riffing on the melody, which is fun. Once again, Adam shows that no one can come with miles of touching him vocally. That was fun. Since I like Adam, I pretty much loved the performance. I suspect that Simon will hate it.
Paula goes off the deep end, rambling about pure genius. Simon calls it "very brave." He thought it was original, and not the karaoke crap we'd been singing tonight. Randy thought the song could have been corny, but it certainly wasn't. Adam interrupts and gives a shout-out to Ricky Minor and the band. Kara says she cannot wait, every week, to see what Adam is going to do. Kara says it was like "Studio 57." Umm, subtract three from that number Kara.
Kris Allen - "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers
Kris says he's going to make this old classic his own. He'll be playing the piano tonight. Huh, didn't know he could do that. This piano version is really cool. He starts out with just him on the piano, then is joined by a string quartet, it looks like. Vocally, he's spot on one more time. The famous "I Know" reprise is handled magnificently, more staccato than the original. He put more passion in this version than the great Bill Withers did. Easily the best performance of the night. Rightfully put into the pimp spot. Kris might win the whole thing. This guy has proven to be pretty awesome. Randy loved it, Kara gets to use her favorite word ("Artistry!"), Paula rambles, and Simon loved what he brought. Simon loved the arrangement. True, great arrangement.
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-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
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