When Idol eyes are smiling

American Idol has finally reached the stage where I take an interest again: the live shows with the top 24 contestants. I have managed to avoid almost all of the auditions up till now, so I was approaching most of the singers this year with fresh eyes and ears.

Sadly there were two things hampering my enjoyment from the get go. One was through no fault of the show. TV3, the only terrestrial channel broadcasting Idol, decided in their infinite wisdom that this year it would be a good idea to only show half of the contestants. Naturally, this really got my goat. I ended up having to watching the remaining 12 performances in crap quality on YouTube. If they do the same thing next week, I swear, I'll have a canary.

Second on my list of disappointments was the producers decision to introduce "themes" to the show. One of the reasons I always loved the early shows was simply because they didnt have a theme. Contestants could sing whatever they liked and that allowed the audience to get a good grasp of where they were coming from musically. This small bit of expression was removed from them when they all had a "60s week" imposed on them. *SIGH*

Moving onto the show itself. I wasnt really blown away by any of the contestants performances this week. The guys were up first. Some were completely forgettable. Others (David Hernandez, David Cook and Michael Johns), were merely adequate. Robbie Carricos voice was likeable, but I really didnt buy the rocker vibe he was trying to portray. I was very surprised by David Archuleta. His voice was way more mature than I'd expected and he made a slightly boring song FAR more enjoyable than it had any right to be.

My two favourite guys (so far) would be Danny Noriega and Jason Castro, both extremely different from each other. Danny had impressed me in earlier shows with his voice and I really enjoyed how his personality just spilled out over the stage during his performance! Jason on the other hand went for a much more understated approach and the song just melted beautifully into my head.

The girls were decent overall, but suffered from the same forgettable factor as most of the guys. The blondes in particular were hard to differentiate between! Alexandrea Lushington gave what I considered to be the best "performance" from the girls. She was working the song out from all the way down the stairs! Brooke White continued with her "nice" routine with a very pleasant rendition of her song........but I can see that shtick becoming old FAST :P Ramiele Maluaby looked and sounded great, but I think the song might have been a lil too big for someone so teeny!

Our big Irish hope Carly Smithson (who I've had a problem with since the start) was good, but suffered badly from all the hype and expectation that the judges have built up around her. Shes going to have to work extra had just to live up to the crazy high standards that are already expected of her! (which, I must admit, is very unfair).

As for the four who were sent home, I had no problems with their dismissal. The question is, how will the remaining 20 shape up on their second week? Its not too late for a few more to earn my fickle adoration :P

oh and I would like to blame my haphazard review of this weeks show on the fact that I was forced to watch half the show on the telly and then search for the other half on the internet!!! >:(

Bshorty revels in his A.D.D.

AUDIO DAY DREAM - Blake Lewis

I’m going to ignore the fact that Blake Lewis stems from American Idol; otherwise I’ll end up in a long discussion about his performance on the show. Suffice to say, he wasn’t my favourite and I felt that he was over-hyped just a tad :P But as soon as I heard his catchy debut single, I knew I’d have to give the album a whirl.

Audio Day Dream (or ADD for short) is a genuine delight to listen to. First and foremost, it’s a fun, bright and breezy affair. For his first time out of the gate, Blake has wisely chosen to avoid tackling any important social issues. There’s not a profound word of wisdom in sight ;) The loss or pursuit of a girl is about as serious a topic as Blake is willing to broach.

During the Idol competition, Blake was mainly singled out because he had demonstrated a gift for beat boxing. Each week he used (and sometimes OVERUSED) this skill to great effect in his songs. I had feared that the album would be one long self-indulgent beat boxing orgy. Even though there IS some beat boxing present on the album, it thankfully never overshadows the songs. Only on one short track does he cut loose (but to be fair, that track is nothing BUT beat boxing).

One point of note is that the majority of the album is co-written and produced by “One Republic” front man (and producer du jour) Ryan Tedder and as such it has a very coherent sound to it. The disc is a perfect balance of modern production techniques and an old school 80s electronica vibe. And it just so happens that right now 80s music is back fashion, so even though Blake has wrapped himself in a retro cloak, the disc still manages to sound quite current.

The production can be a little heavy at times, but never to the detriment of the songs. Truth be told, even though his voice is very pleasant on the ears, it’s not as strong as it could be, so the production gives a little helping hand here and there.

This is one of those rare albums that actually gets stronger as it goes on, as opposed to most albums which lay all the good stuff upfront. Even the ballads (which carefully avoid sounding laboured or soppy) have a lovely flow to them and are spread quite evenly throughout the album for a bit of variety.

This is quality pop that I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend!

Standout Tracks:

• Break Anotha
• Gots to Get Her
• How Many Words
• Surrender
• Heres My Hello
• Watcha Got 2 Lose
• She's Makin' Me Lose It
• End of the World

Not black, but definately gold

Say hello to my latest obsession; Sam Sparro. His music could be described as the love child of Prince, Unklejam and Daft Punk. But even those comparisons wouldn't be doing him enough justice. His criminally short 6 track EP "Black & Gold" is an eclectic mix of dance beats and electro-fuck, all fused together with a slick retro flavour. Needless to say, I've got it stuck on repeat and am eagerly awaiting a full album release. His videos, however do him no favours and I would seriously recommend avoiding them, if at all possible! :P