Did you see it last night?  I did!  The top six contestants on American Idol sang songs by this week's Idol "Mentor" - Andrew Lloyd Webber.  IMHO it was a bit of a train wreck.  Let me elaborate... (If you have not seen the show yet - SPOILERS ahead!)

Andy

Sir Webber seemed a bit out of his element and rubbed me the wrong way in the beginning, but by the end of the night I was quite enjoying him.  He was very kind to the contestants and seemed to be enjoying himself.  I was kinda creeped out by the his riff on not being a hot 17 year old girl when David Cook sang to him, but whatever.  The "1. open your eyes and 2. open your eyes" moment was also a little bizzaro.  My question, why did they need to film it in the Las Vegas theater of Phantom of the Opera (oh, yes, product placement).  I am curious to see who will sing on the results show tomorrow (can you say Sarah Brightman).

The Singers

The evening began with Syesha singing "One Rock & Roll Too Many", an obscure song from Starlight Express.  This truly was her B'way audition.  She has a background in musical theater and she did an excellent job and seemed pleased that she may get calls from some casting directors once she is jetted from AI.  Then Jason Castro took the stage to sing "Memory" from Cats.  The best line of the night was when Jason said, "I didn't know it was sung by a cat".  I nearly fell off my chair.  His performance was subdued and the judges nailed him - not a good night for Castro.  Brooke White tackled "You Must Love Me" from Evita (I guess it is a new version created for the film adaptation - when is that happening?). This was not good dawg.  She started the song and then had the band START OVER.  Randy and Simon said that this was acceptable, but those of us here in NYC know that this is NOT kosher in a B'way audition - you just keep going!  Brooke looked sweet and knew she didn't do great, but my biggest problem was with her hand gestures.  She was really "acting" up a storm with those hands.  Why do people do that?

The evening took a turn for the better when David Archuleta hipped up "Think of Me" from Phantom of the Opera.  It was a cool contemporary version with (in the words of Randy) a bunch of Stevie Wonder riffs."  I give him high marks.  Carly Smithson (one of my favorites) tackled "Jesus Christ Superstar" from the musical of the same name and she rocked the house.  I thought it was a tiny bit screechy in parts, but definitely a highlight of the night.  Also, I was happy she wore long sleeves again (America doesn't like all those tattoos - is that awful to say - I can't help it).  Lastly, the likely winner of the show (at this point), took the stage and proved that he can freakin' SING by belting out a version of "Music of the Night" from Phantom of the Opera.  Wow.  He sounded really good and he made it sound cool and hip without going crazy.

She's A Cold Hearted Snake

Just a quick note to say that Ms. Paula Abdul had a particularly foggy night.  She didn't seem to be able to produce one single coherent sentence all night long.  I just love it when she gets to the end of a sentence and she is totally lost and she will just toss in a word to try to wrap it up and it makes absolutely no sense.  Somehow she thinks if she uses a word like "unique" or "passion" and then just stops talking, that she has made a complete sentence.  Her doctors need to lower her dosage.  ASAP.

Casting Results

Back to the Idol Auditions.  If I were casting a Broadway show I would definitely hire Syesha and David Archuleta.  They have great B'way voices and could step into some shows.  While David Cook and Carly did well, I just don't know what shows I would put them in - and frankly I don't think they are looking to be on the Great White Way.  Brooke and Jason will be relieved to know that they never have to sing another show tune again.

Your turn.  Any thoughts on the show?  Favorites?  Least favorites?  Inquiring bloggers want to know!

"I didn't know it was sung by a cat".  HYSTERICAL!!!!!

~ See You On The Aisle