Subscribe
Last night the Australian Idol’s tackled the best of Britain. This new theme gave the Idols so many great songs to choose from, and they didn’t disappoint. That was especially true of Tarisai and Matt, who both earned touchdowns for their efforts.
Carl Riseley was first up, taking inspiration from Michael Bublé’s version of The Beatles’ hit “Can’t Buy Me Love.” Perhaps my being a Michael Bublé fan makes me feel a bit negatively towards Carl when he takes on this kind of challenge. He always just seems like the poor man’s version. His vocals are getting a lot better, but he still doesn’t seem to have the energy or charisma to pull this kind of thing off for me.
Tarasai Vushe was next on the stage with the Queen epic “Somebody to Love.” When it first started I was a bit skeptical and craving a greater connection, but it seemed to amp up after the first chorus. From there it was amazing, but I’m not sure whether half an amazing song deserves a touchdown. Perhaps you had to be there, as everyone was standing on their feet for this effort.
I was also a bit nervous when I heard Ben McKenzie was tackling Oasis’ “Wonderwall.” Honestly, I’ve never liked this song. It’s so whiny, and it was released in my last year of high school so it always makes me think of that. Anyway, I really loved what Ben brought to it. I understand Dicko’s comment that it felt very Disney, but I think that’s why I enjoyed it so much. It was light, beautiful, and uplifting, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Marty Simpson’s performance will probably be remembered for the judges’ comments, rather than what he actually did. It’s a shame, because his cover of The Kooks’ “Naïve” was very cool. I think playing with a guitar last week marked a turning point for Marty, he’s seemed a lot more comfortable ever since. But Dicko has begged Australia not to vote for Marty. He says the competition’s not right for Marty, who agreed that he’d be happy enough to leave. Personally I’m torn. I think he is growing and learning, and he wasn’t the weakest performer last night. But then again, I’m a Coastie. I certainly wouldn’t mind him honing his craft and playing some local shows.
Jacob Butler also decided to give The Beatles a whirl. His cover of “Let It Be” did show some vocal weaknesses, but it was also incredibly beautiful. I think every week he’s allowing us to see more of himself, and I’m really enjoying that journey. I also think he showed great bravery picking such a challenging song. It would have been so easy for him to cop out with more Oasis!
I loved what Daniel Mifsud did with The Police smash, “Message in a Bottle.” Daniel is another performer who’s really growing on Idol, becoming less imitative and pushing more boundaries. This was a really exciting arrangement which saved the song from flat lining.
After so many cool performances, I felt a bit sorry for Natalie Gauci. She sang well, as she always does, but Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab” was not the song for her. I would have preferred her to have delved into the archives a bit and pulled out some Dusty Springfield, Lulu, or even some Annie Lennox. This performance just wasn’t believable at all.
Matt Corby closed the show with yet another touchdown-winning performance. The competition’s golden boy chose The Verve’s “Bittersweet Symphony,” and built it beautifully. This kid really understands music, and it shows. It’s so hard to criticise him - I can only fault him on his choice of jacket!
It was another great show and another verdict that will go down to the wire. Based on last night’s performance, I’d pick Carl to go. But the controversy surrounding Marty’s performance may see him make an early exit. Then again, if last week has told us anything it’s that no one is safe! Make sure you tune in tonight to see which way it goes!
I’m from America so I only know very limited things about how the competition is going down, even though I’ve followed every season religiously. But, in short, who is the consensus frontrunner in the minds of the Australian public? I mean, I’d love to know who everyone thinks is going to win this thing, or at least who people think are going to make the finale, because I honestly don’t know how popular these contestants are with the general public.
Based on what I’ve seen, I’d pick a Ben/Matt finale, though I think they might have similar fan bases so one might go home sooner than the other.
Anyway, I just want to know who is popular so that if a shocking elimination happens, I’ll know to be shocked, haha.
I think your tips are pretty spot on. There’s been a lot of buzz about Matt from the get go, but it seems like Ben’s gaining more fans every day. They’ve both been very consistent, but you’re right in saying that they could polarise votes.
Natalie’s also been very consistent (I’m trying to get my hands on a vid of her performance from last night). Last night’s performance was by no means her best, but she’s been delivering great vocals every week. The same can be said for Tarisai as well.
That’s probably the top four at the moment, although Daniel Mifsud has improved leaps and bounds in the last couple of weeks.
When Mark Da Costa left last week it shocked a lot of people, myself included. I honestly didn’t like the guy but there was so much hype about him no one expected an early exit.
Great to hear people from abroad are checking out the awesome talent we have here!
After seeing the song list earlier in the week we took to referring to this as the “trainwreck” episode. It wasn’t entirely, but still…
Only a few of these songs were Britpop. The term doesn’t mean “anything from the UK”, it’s much more specific than that. I am astounded that Jacob opted for a Beatles song given his background and have to wonder if someone is trying to sabotage him.
Carl needs to go. After disco night I had some hope he’d actually engage with the material, but he’s made it perfectly clear that he will not. I’ve seen comparisons online to Bobby from last year, and guess what? Bobby got booted off too.
I didn’t mind Ben’s effort, but it didn’t grab me much either. And I absolutely hated what Daniel did. The arrangement made me want to punch him in the throat, the backing singers were completely inappropriate, and it really felt like he was adding stuff in just because he could, not because he should’ve.
I like Natalie, but her song choice was poor. She sang it reasonably well, but it just wasn’t believable from her.
Frankly, when I come out of an episode liking Tarasai’s song most of the lot there is something very very wrong.
As Carl hasn’t been kicked off already I can only assume that he has a reasonably solid group of fans who are going to vote for him every week no matter how much he fails to play the game. So, unfortunately, I reckon we’re probably looking at Marty of Natalie going. But I’ve been wrong every other week.
Matt, I’m honestly glad they were a little more flexible with the theme. I’ve never liked Britpop in its strictest sense, and couldn’t imagine sitting through a night of Oasis, Blur, and Pulp
.
I can’t believe they’re comparing Carl to Bobby – Bobby is super talented. He was the underdog, but it was all about unconventional looks and style rather than ability. Very sad. Carl’s my pick to go too, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed. Hubby will be very sad if Natalie gets the boot
.
The Bobby-Carl comparisons have been of the “but Bobby stuck to his style and nobody complained!” variety.
Actually, I think most of them are sticking to their own style, whatever it may be. It’s just that Carl’s is further away from pop than the rest so it is more jarring.
Ahhh, then I would think the biggest difference is that Bobby actually arranged his own music whereas Carl blatantly takes the hard work Michael Bublé’s already done making songs suit his style!