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'American Idol' Frank Sinatra week: What should the Top 5 sing?
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The "American Idol" contestants are being saddled with the songs of Ol' Blue Eyes for this coming week. What should they sing?This is probably the hardest week for song choice so far. Shania Twain may be limited but at least her songs were written in the last 15 years.
Don't get us wrong -- love Sinatra. But his songs are from the 40s and 50s and are classics, so the Idols are stuck in a catch-22 of "make it your own, make it current" and "don't mess with an original." It's a very hard line to walk and the judges are really harping on it this season. But here are our choices for the Idols:
Crystal Bowersox, "One for My Baby"
Raise your hand if you vote for "Idol" and remember Bette Midler singing this to Johnny Carson. That's what we thought. Regardless, Crystal should glam it up even more than on Inspirational Songs week and have a really beautiful moment. Nothing but her on a stool and a piano. Could be best Idol performance yet. Also, she needs to bounce back from Shania Twain week.
Aaron Kelly, "Someone to Watch Over Me"
We aren't entirely sure Aaron can keep up with the range of this song, but if he can, we think he would sing it very well. It's a very young, innocent piece and you just know his fanbase will melt on "I'm a little lamb who's lost in the wood." It won't sound current at all, but Aaron doesn't really do that any week and the judges give him a pass, probably because it feels like you're punching a puppy to criticize him. Even Simon can't do it, have you noticed that? So this is our call for Aaron.
Michael Lynche, "Love Is Here to Stay"
As Vote for the Worst points out, Michael does the same thing every week, which is make any song he chooses sound like an R&B slow jam. This week will not be different because Frank Sinatra is like the original R&B slow jam guy. So all the advice we have for Big Mike is to choose a song that people don't know as well so that it might actually sound original.
Casey James: "They Can't Take That Away From Me"
Color us crazy but we can kind of hear this as a country-esque jam. Casey should play his guitar, but not too crazy or up-tempo, and give it a country vibe. He might actually do the best job of making something original and current without crapping on the original.
Lee Dewyze, "My Funny Valentine"
Yes, we know this was like Constantine Maroulis' "moment." That was a long time ago. This is an incredibly hard song but beautiful and we think Lee's raspy, contemporary voice might do very well on it. He's been kind of over-shadowed by Casey's sexiness, but Lee needs to man up and realize that he's cute and female voters like him that way. Big Mike is a teddy bear, Aaron Kelly is a baby, but Casey and Lee are IILFs. Own it, Lee.
In case you'd like to see the whole song list, here it is:
All or Nothing at All
All the Way
Anything Goes
As Time Goes By
Blue Moon
Blue Skies
Come Dance With Me
Come Fly With Me
Come Rain or Come Shine
Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)
I Get a Kick Out of You
I Love Paris
I Only Have Eyes for You
I've Got a Crush on You
I've Got the World on a String
I've Got You Under My Skin
In the Still of the Night
In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
It Had to Be You
It Was a Very Good Year
Just One of Those Things
Love and Marriage
Love Is Here to Stay
Love Walked In
My Funny Valentine
My Kind of Town
My Way
New York, New York
Night and Day
One for My Baby
Pennies From Heaven
Put Your Dreams Away
Someone to Watch Over Me
Somethin' Stupid
Strangers In the Night
Street of Dreams
Summer Wind
That's All
That's Life
The Best Is Yet to Come
The Good Life
The Lady Is a Tramp
The Way You Look Tonight
They Can't Take That Away /from Me
What Is This Thing Called Love
Witchcraft
You Do Something to Me
You Make Me Feel So Young
You're Getting to Be a Habit With Me
Young at Heart
What do you think guys? Agree with our picks?
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How about "The Way You Look Tonight" for Lee? Anyway, he'll be awesome whatever he sings :)
I'd like to see Crystal to Come rain or come shine and just change it completely. Her or Lee either one. But I dread this week. Who comes up with these themes? LOL Can't we have a Bob Segar night?
This is gonna be a tough week ~ these are all great classic songs, but hard to make your own without sounding dated. I hope they don't "over-horn" the arrangements, but somehow that's what I suspect we're going to get unless they all pick ballads - and if I were them, that's what I'd do. (Not that I can sing more than 3 notes in a row on-key, mind you.)
My picks: "Come Rain or Come Shine" for Crystal; "I've Got a Crush on You" for Lee; "It Had to Be You" for Mike; "The Way You Look Tonight" for Casey, and I agree on "Someone to Watch Over Me" for Aaron ... I think Big Mike will pick something cheesy, though, with lots of horns (groan...)
Either Casey or Lee should grab Seether's arrangement of "Under My Skin"...
Agree with your list especially One for My Baby for Crystal. She can probably relate to playing the bars till 3 in the morning etc.
It will be interesting to see what they pick because like you mentioned they are old songs and a lot of them seem reallllly slow. I'm a diehard Lee fan and he never disappoints with whatever he chooses so I'm interested to see what he ends up choosing.
Yeah kids be young and contemporary! Next week its Frank Sinatra - are they serious?
I think "My funny valentine" would be good for either Casey or Lee but my guess is Mike will grab it. Definitely Come Rain or Come shine for Crystal. Otherwise Fly me to the Moon for Lee.
It's just not a good theme. They want them to be relevant? Unless these guys grow arrangement chops over the weekend it could be a car wreck.
For Crystal, "The Lady is a Tramp". Change the lyrics to first person with the backup group singing the chorus.
Don't touch "One more for the Road" Billie Holiday owns that song. Don't touch "My Way", Frank owns that one.
For Mike, "That's Life".
Don't they have to do two songs each this week?
Crystal - Someone to watch over me.
Mike - Did Sintra do a song called "STFU"?