Fancast Exclusive: Justin Guarini On Last Night’s American Idol

By Justin Guarini
Fancast American Idol Correspondent
Host of Reality Chat: Idol Wrap and Idol Tonight,
TV Guide Network

HELLO DOLLY!!!

If there was anyone who could shake up Idol this year and breathe even more life into an already lively show…it was Dolly.

As we head toward the backstretch, the mentors come rolling in. I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite obscure movies of all time is 9 to 5. Do you remember that one? If not look it up and rent it. It has a knock-out cast, and Dolly Parton was the stuff a man’s dreams are made of in that movie. Honestly, she was one of the most stunning southern peaches of her day..at least to me anyway…but I’m from Georgia, so I’m biased. Could also be the fact that she’s a blonde…sue me.

Hey, this is about Idol isn’t it. Well then, back to it…

This year has seen the evolution of the mentor. Before, it seemed as though the mentors were there less to help the kids broaden their horizons, and more to use Idol as an advertizing platform to broaden their own. Remember Gwen Stefani? She looked like she flat out didn’t want to be there during her interview where she talked about the kids. In her defense, Sanjaya murdered one of her songs in cold blood right before her very eyes, and she had to pretend to be cool about it.

Well, truth (from my perspective) be told it’s not all about the kids this year, but it is more about them. Dolly’s got an album out now that I’m sure she’s pushing (why wouldn’t she), but they really showed the kids working with her, and her giving them some feedback and encouragement. It seems more balanced to me this year, and the mentors are still spared from having to judge the kids during the live broadcast.

Brooke White
“Joline”- Singing one of Dolly’s most famous songs must not have been an easy choice. She mentioned in the pre-interview that Dolly was/is a tiny woman that is “huge”, and she hit it right on the head. I think that Brooke was a pleasure to watch, and without trying to imitate, did a good job getting into the song. I felt a bit of a disconnect with the deeper aspects of the song though, and I think I know why. The poor girl had to learn the song and then play the guitar as well…in short it looked like she was thinking…and God knows that I would have been too. Simon called her out for not being connected, but let him try and live the life of an Idol for a week. Lets see how he reacts when we strip him of his assistants for a day…lol!

David Cook
Battling the snarky comments that have surfaced all over the country, David took the time to explain his arrangement choices…and openly give credit where credit is due. American Idol does have a large Karaoke element to it, and I certainly don’t mean that as a put-down. It’s just fact. Where we see the Karaoke end and the star-quality begin is in the interpretation of the songs selected. Can the singer convey the message in a way that makes the song fresh for the audience again? Well we found out that David can in fact fly solo. My girlfriend is smitten, and I get it. David is quite talented, and proved that the critics can shove their critiques where the sun don’t shine. A subdued performance that didn’t rely on the rock screams (which are great), and took on a new life of it’s own.

RM
Could RM finally give us the performance we’ve been waiting on? Could she overcome the chants of the masses that were confused when they didn’t see her in the bottom three last week? Well…I do have to say that the performance was much better than last weeks, but still not up to par with what I think she’s capable of. There was one note that I loved, a high note that was a peek at the old RM we knew and loved…and still love. Sweet and nice, does not win AI. A huge voting base of Philippino’s can certainly get you far. I think that if someone of import that does not deserve to go….goes tonight, we’ll see a bit of a backlash against RM. I don’t wish it on her, but I foresee that being the case if she overstays her welcome.

Jason Castro
“Travelling Through”- After being called “funky-looking” (in a loving way) by Dolly, he took his funkyness and did what I thought was a perfect arrangement of the song. He’s so earthy and so was the song. It felt like a Paul Simon arrangement, and I totally dig Paul Simon. It was right in his comfort zone vocally…the guitar, the boots, the whole look was on point for me. It’s such a challenge to cram all the goodness you can muster into 90 seconds. Try it. Imagine your favorite songs cut to 90 seconds, or worse yet, your favorite TV shows crammed into 90 seconds. Crazy, right? Well, much like an Olympic skater who trains 4 years for 4 minutes on the ice, the Idols train approx 97 hours (6 days x 15 hours per day + 7hours on show day) all for 90 seconds…that could make or break their careers. Chew on that…

Carly Smithson
“Here You Come Again”- As if I didn’t love her already. If she were blonde, she’d be perfect. I’m laughing as I write that piggish comment, and apologize if I offended anyone, if you know my sense of humor, you know that it was all in good fun. Enough about me. That was a stellar performance. Poo-poo to what Simon said about her voice, he was flat wrong. The wardrobe comment was on point though. I think that Carly looks good, but not stellar, and her clothes could actually be better. It’s the nature of the beast for Idols to get better and better looking as the show goes on. For me though…yipes. my hair just got longer and my clothes more outlandish. So who am I to talk? (laughing, but serious)…Carly, is beautiful on screen and in person, so she doesn’t have to worry…but I do get what Simon said. Look at a picture of Kelly when she first auditioned, and then when she won on Idol. Big difference.

David Archuleta
“Smoky Mountain Memories”- David got a glowing review from Dolly. I thought that he was as solid as a rock. He can sing, he’s got a great stage prescience, and the audio technicians used the reverb button to great effect…however I wasn’t blown away. You know why? Not because he wasn’t good. Not for any other reason than I want to see something different. I know that David can sing the phonebook, I know that he’s going to sell 50-bajillion records, I have every reason to believe that he’s going to have a career that will span decades, and I’m happy about it. I’m just being selfish I guess. I want to see him completely turn us all on our heads, and show us that he can do anything, and do it well. On the other hand, being consistently fantastic, even when the song’s don’t connect (I didn’t like the song, but he sang the hell out of it) is a good way to stay on the show and in the hearts of the masses.

Kristy Lee
“Coat Of Many Colors”- Ah Kristy…did I call it or what? Allow me to brag a bit, I totally called the fact that Kristy would nail country week. I totally believed her, she looked great and sounded on point. I did notice that the audience didn’t all stand up though. Interesting…they usually stand for everyone. I think that Kristy put up a solid performance…sure there was only one “money note” where she went for it, but unlike previous weeks, she hit it right on the dot. Will the audience give her the credit she deserves this week, or will Kristy serve as RM’s bridge to next week?

Syesha
“I Will Always Love You”- This was probably one of the most overplayed songs on the radio. I loved then hated it , then loved it again. When Syesha tackled it I immediately though of it as a good Whitney karaoke impression. She only changed a few notes here and there. It’s gotta be a hard song to sing because it’s so identified with Whitney that you have no chance of making it your own without gutting the arrangement and starting over again. Syesha can sing, beautifully, but I think it was a terrible song choice due to the fact that she would have had to levitate, or make rose petals burst out of every TV in America to make us forget that Whitney owns that song…lock, stock, and two smoking barrels. By the way, I think the money that Dolly made off of the remake by Whitney, could have funded most of Dollywood’s infastructure. Good God…I’d like just one of Dolly’s ASCAP (or maybe BMI) checks. Anyway, Syesha is great…but I fear for her.

Michael Johns
“It’s All Wrong But It’s Allright” Soulful, and strained (in the good,raw emotional way). Bottom line…he rocked it. I was very impressed. I have to say that I didn’t know he had it in him. I get the Queen vibe…etc, but this was some serious blue-eyed soul that felt authentic, and fit him like a glove. Nothing more to say than that. Bravo (ok, nothing more than that)

As I gleefully predicted it’s gonna be very difficult to see the people we really like go over the next 3 weeks. The last of the mid-level singers will hopefully make their exit starting this week. The top 5 are pretty solid in our minds aren’t they? Well, don’t be too sure.

I’m going to rent 9 to 5 from iTunes!

Homepage photo credit: Matt Beard