Reality Ravings

There were three stars on tonight's Australian Idol - Chrislyn Hamilton, Wes Carr, and celebrity mentor and icon Cyndi Lauper.

I was surprised that Cyndi Lauper had any hair left considering the punishing dye regime she has maintained over the last 30 years. She was a fabulous mentor and showed that being a professional singer is not just about singing, but warming up, posture and looking after your voice.

As a judge as well she managed to give the best criticism and advice. I thought Marcia was meant to be the critical technical judge this year but clearly she is finding that way to hard. Dicko seems to have taken his nice pills and has turned into Mr Bland, and Kyle most of the time gives styling advice.

In fact the judges are letting down Idol this year not the performers.

Luke Dickens - Jack and Diane - John Cougar Mellancamp

Luke appears to have taken his facial hair to new heights with horizontal sideburns added to the chin tuft. I suppose if you like that look....

Anyway his song choice this week was again smart - Jack and Diane is on high rotation on some radio stations so the voters who were not around in the '80's would know the song well. Again he was one of the better performers and will not be a Idol casualty this week.

He had Cyndi in tears I am not sure what that was all about. Luke's appeal is in his unprentiousness. The judges all were positive.

Brooke Adamo - Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carne
Cyndi was trying to take the girl next door sheen off by getting in pushing match with her to make her more aggressive. It did not help her with the song, she still sang it saccharine sweet with a bit of trying to sex it up a bit facial expressions and body movements. I cannot believe that Andrew G thinks she will make top 4 does she remind him of his wife Noa?

Obviously I am not seeing her star quality as the judges were gushing. Kyle thought she was "sultry".

Madam Parker - Upside Down - Diana Ross.
Now this girl is apparently a contender and she has a great voice and moves, but I just think she did not own the stage and comes across as shy. Her interview technique is appalling and if she wants to win this show which is basically a popularity contest she needs to work on giving more then one word answers to questions. It just makes her look thick.

Cyndi said she needs to strengthen her middle register. Dicko reckons there is someone out there wanting to make records with her.

Mark Spano - I Want To Know What Love Is - Foreigner

The look on Cyndi's face when he was singing in the montage was mirroring my horror of having to listen to this song. This is my all time most hated song tieing with I Just Called To Say I Love You by Stevie Wonder.

He was one of the many Idols struck down by the Idol flu this week and she was giving him tips to help his voice in these situations.

Three words critque - I hated it.

After Kyle had a quick grope with Cyndi (had to pay that) he then said he thought the ladies at home would be loving Mark - I don't think so.

Are the judges trying to get him to be this year's Idol sex symbol? If so he makes Daniel Mifsud look like George Clooney.

Tom Williams - Uptown Girl - Billy Joel.

Can someone please give this kid a children's show to be screened at 4.00pm on weekdays so I don't have to listen to him sing.
Tom had his usual pitch problems in rehearsals and it was not much better in the performance. His song had the same effects on me as 2 mg of valium zzzzz. After that I needed three of Kyles 30 coffees he supposedly has a day.

The tempo of the song kept the '80's theme as it was something you would have heard on the Mike Walsh Show.

Yay Kyle called it and said it was a 'disaster'

Dicko told him the song is a show stopper and that was a speedhump. I think Dicko has soft cocked on a number of occasions this year and this was just one example. I wish he would get his snarkyness back.

Chrislyn Hamilton - True Colours - Cyndi Lauper
Wow brave song choice - this was either going to be great or a train wreck. This girl is amazing - the way she sang it brought tears to my eyes. Early Idol prediction - she will be walking those opera house steps. She is a fantastic performer who connects with the audience - she breaks down the fourth wall.

Can we have a show where her weight is not mentioned?

Teale Jabuenko - I Still Haven't Found What I Am Looking For - U2

This is another one they are pushing as this years heartthrob - and I am not getting it at all. I think he lacks any personality - when he is interviewed it reminds of a Bronco's player in a post match interview. Not riveting. This runs over into his performance and he sends me into a catatonic state.

Again the judges had a divergent view to me.
Cyndi Lauper thought it was so great and she loved it.
Kyle thought it was a superstar performance.

Sophie Patterson - Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics

After landing in the bottom 3 Sophie tried the big notes wins votes approach when she hit a high note in this Eurythmics song. Predictably the audience cheered. Sophie was quite good, but she does that annoying nose wrinkle that she thinks makes her look sexy.

Wes Carr - Dancing In The Dark - Bruce Springsteen.

This week Wes played a guitar and this week he managed to hang onto it for the whole song. He was fantastic and showed his star quality and he will be hard to beat. Today in the papers there was an article in the papers saying it was unfair he was in the competition because he had been a working muso for the past ten year.

Idol gets criticised for being Karoke competition but when a professional performer comes on there is carping about that. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Wes looked like a midget beside Ricki-Lee. Not a great look. But he does look hungry for the Idol title.

Roshani Priddis - What's Love Got To Do With It - Tina Turner

The positives - I really loved her bracelets - probably not available at Diva! Again this song rates as one of the most overplayed songs on radio in the '80's and '90's and is the musical equivalent of watching paint dry.

I criticise Thanh Bui for keeping his boy band moves , and Roshani seems to have kept some of her school spectacular moves.

Roshani is a great technical performer and knows her craft, but for some reason I find her forgettable. Kyle wanted her to "hit the song out of the ball park" but could not advise her on how to do this.

Thanh Bui - Every Breath You Take - The Police

This guy still had the boy band moves going this week. It must be indoctrinated in them that he does not realise he is doing them. Simon Cowell would be ripping him to shreds about that. His voice is good and he will schlep along in the competition for quite a few more weeks.

Dicko did mention there was still a bit of boy band left in him and it needed to be slapped out of him.

Bottom three prediction:
Tom Williams
Teale Jabuenko
Sophie Patterson