Last night I made my
decision for top 3
3rd Place-
Alex Preston. He’s
quirky and talented and has switched it up but I do think he isn’t as quirky
and talented as the judges would like us to believe and I think if Harry
Connick Jr. was able to go totally uncensored on this show he would say the
same, but I doubt Idol would let that happen. Alex isn’t different. We have a
bunch of these Jason Mraz types out there and taking a popular song and adding
a reggae tone is hardly creative genius. He looks terrified to be on stage
half the time and uncomfortable in his own skin. However, he’s consistent. He
puts on a good performance each week and has gone under the radar through most
of the competition.
2nd Place-
Jena Irene- Truly the “dark
horse” and I hate to be so cliché but it’s absolutely true. She rose from the
obscurity of the crop to the top. Every
week she gets better and better. There isn’t really anyone out there right now
with that voice. She does have some Paramore influence in there but she isn’t
out there week after week taking every song and making it into a Hayley Williams
song. Last nights version of Carrie
Underwood’s, “So Small” sold it for me. She’s an artist. She has the voice to
sing a song like Barracuda in her range without trying to be Ann Wilson and she
took a sweet and vanilla country song and made it into a version that could easily be
re-released today and hit the top ten. She is amazing and honestly could take
the whole thing if not for……
#1- Caleb Johnson
I wasn’t particularly
impressed with Caleb in the early shows before they got to Hollywood, but Idol
does that. They keep the good ones hidden. They don’t give all their goodies up
at once, so he went on with a steady but unimpressive run for a bit. Once he
hit the stage solo and had control over what he sang and the arrangements, it
got real. Caleb can sing anything and
make it sound like he is the first guy to ever perform it. His version of Rival Sons “Pressure and Time”
sold it for me. Not because I'm a huge Sons fan but because he didn’t go out
there and do a karaoke version. He did it Caleb style.
The reason he will win
over Jena Irene really isn’t about vocal ability because they are evenly
matched as we saw in their Gimme Shelter duet. The reason he will win is
because HE IS A FRONT MAN. He has it all. A vocal range that today’s artists
drool over. Since day one I have wanted him to sing a Chris Cornell song and I
am still holding out hope for it. Caleb isn’t your standard “pretty boy”
front man. To me he could be the love child of Jack Black and Meatloaf. That’s
not to put him down by any means, I am just saying he isn’t the traditional
rock and roll guy we are used to in today’s market. It really doesn’t matter cuz when he sings
its all sex and rock n roll and you believe every line he sings. He will be the
next Idol and he will have a very successful rock n roll career as long as Idol
doesn’t water him down. That’s why second place in this competition is usually
better. They don’t force a formula on you, but Caleb is strong and I suspect
that he will do his time as the Idol poster boy and then go out and do what he
does best and that is ROCK.
Honorable Mention-
I had to take a second
to talk about Jess Meuse because I have been screaming at my tv, and on twitter
since the day she sang Crow and the Butterfly by Shinedown. Jess has NO idea
how strong her voice is and the range she has. She isn’t comfortable in front
of an audience and just needs someone to PUSH her. Her song choices week after
week have been nice and safe and kept her sort of under the radar never falling
in the bottom three. It kills me because there were a few moments in the Crow
and Butterfly tune that I heard what she COULD be and I am confused as to why
she doesn’t hear it. I remember the first time I belted out a note. I was like “damn
that felt good” I haven’t looked back. So my hope is that someone out there in
Hollywoodland sees what I see and scoops her up, and makes her into the giant
superstar I truly believe she can be. She has the look, she has the talent, she
just doesn’t have a clue.
