Image Credit: Michael Becker/Fox;Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Image Yee-haw! It’s Shania Twain Week on American Idol. Yet while the dormant country superstar proved to be a fabulous guest judges during the season 9 Chicago audition episode, I can’t help but feel that the show’s remaining six contestants will be navigating a minefield choosing from the pre-approved list of 50 Shania tracks currently streaming at iTunes (and listed after the jump). Past history has already shown us the perils of tackling some of Twain’s campier, uptempo tunes on the Idol stage: In season 5, early front-runner Mandisa got the boot after tanking on “Any Man of Mine,” while season 4 victor Carrie Underwood didn’t exactly have an Idol moment on “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” Which is why I pity the fool who chooses “That Don’t Impress Me Much” and finds him- or herself attempting to pull off the “Okay, so you’re Brad Pitt” spoken-word interlude. (Insert silent shudder here.) If Ken Warwick has any kind of soul, he’ll limit the use of that track (and perhaps “Nah!”) to the results-show group “performance.”
Either way, though, the show must go on. Here’s my dream set-list for Tuesday night. When you’re done reading, suggest your own in the comments below. And to get all my Idol news and commentary, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak!
Casey James: “There Goes the Neighborhood“
Lee DeWyze: “You’re Still the One” (time for this cat to go “vulnerable” already!)
Crystal Bowersox: “Home Ain’t Where His Heart Is (Anymore)“
Siobhan Magnus: “Waiter! Bring Me Water!“
High School Student Aaron Kelly: “Up!“
Michael Lynche: “Forever and for Always“
Full List of “Shania Twain Week” Songs at iTunes
“All Fired up, No Place to Go”
“Amneris’ Letter”
“Any Man of Mine”
“Black Eyes, Blue Tears”
“Come On Over”
“Crime of the Century”
“Dance with the One Who Brought You”
“Don’t!”
“Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)”
“(Don’t Gimme That) Once Over”
“Forever and for Always”
“From This Moment On”
“God Bless the Child”
“Home Ain’t Where His Heart Is (Anymore)”
“Honey I’m Home”
“I Ain’t No Quitter”
“If It Don’t Take Two”
“(If You’re Not In It For Love) I’m Outta Here!”
“I’m Gonna Getcha Good!”
“I’m Holdin’ On to Love (To Save My Life)”
“I’m Jealous”
“It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing”
“It’s Alright (Club Mix)”
“Ka-Ching!”
“Lost My Heart”
“Love Gets Me Every Time”
“Man! I Feel Like a Woman”
“Nah!”
“No One Needs to Know”
“Party for Two”
“Rock this Country!”
“She’s Not Just a Pretty Face”
“Shoes”
“Thank you Baby! (For Makin’ Someday Come So Soon)”
“That Don’t Impress Me Much”
“There Goes the Neighborhood”
“Up!”
“Waiter! Bring Me Water!”
“Whatever You Do! Don’t!”
“What Made You Say That”
“When”
“When You Kiss Me”
“When You Kiss Me (Green)”
“Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”
“Wild & Wicked”
“The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)”
“You Lay a Whole Lot of Love on Me”
“You Win My Love”
“You’re Still the One”
“You’ve Got a Way”
what an awful, awful choice for a theme.
It’s actually a great choice, you’re just to dumb to notice it.
Instead of calling people ‘dumb’ for not agreeing with you – why don’t you support your opinion by saying what you like about Shania?
Neil, you’re TOO dumb TO spell correctly. So there.
No. Michele is right, it is an awful theme this week. It’s bad enought Idol has to do a country theme, which many people don’t like, but to do Shania Twain songs?? PLEASE
Ugh. I am so over these outdated themes and singers. When was the last time you heard Shania on the the radio? Of course nothing could be worse then Elvis.
@ Emma, so you’d approve Nickelback since they’re current? How about Orianthi(mum)? Although it would be amusing if they tried some K-OS. Or, hey, Crystal doing BEP?! That’s dope, dawg.
Sorry, but what’s so “awful” about this theme? Shania is one of the MOST successful female artists of ALL TIME.
How about you give us some of your wonderful suggestions…
I know right? You would think that an artist selling 70 millions records would be enough to have her own theme week. Some people are never happy.
Doesn’t mean her music’s any good. Country sucks, plain and simple-made solely for inbred rednecks.
I’d say it’s because this is, supposedly, a “singing competition” (tm Simon), and yet Shania is a mediocre singer at best. She’s all about gimmicks and catchy ditties, and her stuff really doesn’t give a singer with much range anything to dig into unless they totally rearrange her songs.
So what? She has like 4 songs at most that the average person recognizes – the ones mentioned in the article plus “You’re Still the One.” If you’re going to do country, do country, but don’t limit it to a single artist with rather narrow appeal (at least compared to other artist-themed nights like Elvis, the Beatles, and Queen).
Country music is way better than you gaylord music.
@Zach, Shania’s appeal is NOT narrow. She’s the biggest crossover female country artist ever. Her album was the biggest selling FEMALE ALBUM OF ALL TIME! It was only a decade ago! How old are you?
@Minutiae, please. The Beatles had beyond mediocre voices to me. And their theme was SO revered! Shania is just fine as a theme!
Shania’s successful, but look at her catalog! She’s famous for a few big pop singles on country radio. She’s not an amazing artist with an amazing catalog by any stretch of the imagination. I like the idea of picking one artist’s catalog (to avoid the oft-repeated country songs on Idol), but they should have at least picked an artist with a great catalog of songs.
Country works for some people, and for others (like me), it doesn’t..
@KC. Shania actually had several albums of hits before she became famous on the crossover scene. And, some of her best songs never became hits. I’d love to see one of the contestants sing “Don’t.” One of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard, and one that was never famous.
You guy’s do understand that most of these songs are not hers. The show songs are her husbands. She would be nothing without hubby Mutt Lang.
bucketshot, that is NOT true! Shania has ALWAYS been a writer. Long before she met Mutt. She either wrote or co-wrote most of her songs. He was the producer, and helped push her to fame , yes, but in no way are her songs “just his”. Ppl who know nothing about this woman are talking, and its a shame. I don’t know where you were 10 years ago. Must have been under a rock.
Totally agree. Ugh.
Someone who makes a blanket statement like “couuntry sucks” does not respect music in general. It’s like saying all Rock sucks or all Hip-hop sucks. That’s just close-minded and prejudiced. You may not like most of Country music, but I’m sure there are some songs that you can relate to or connect with. But saying all country music is bad is just plain stupid.
Happy 18th Birthday today (4/27) to Allison Iraheta!!!
Agreed. Shania’s songs are not good for the Idol stage. I dread country night anyway, but pop-country is even worse!
I don’t believe that you can say “Shania’s songs are not good for the Idol stage.” These theme nights are supposed to test the contestants, and see whether they can fit ANY style of music into theirs. They should be able to figure out how to make it work for them. It’s called a challenge. And I, for one, think they should be able to do it regardless of the genre or the theme.
I think the producers want to also pick a theme that the general public would be happy with. After all, the viewers are their bread and butter. To limit contestants to just Shania Twain songs is just plain stupid. And by looking at these posts, there is a lot of viewers who agree. If they want to have country theme, then they need to allow contestants to sing any country song by any country artist. Tomorrow night is going to be awful to watch
By viewing these posts? Hah! There are only about 100 people who post here. You need to ask all of the viewers of AI. So your assumption is just plain stupid. Stop jumping to conclusions. And yeah, you are the stupid one. You are one of those people who thinks that they have the brains to be a music expert. I don’t have the brains, but I will tell you that you’re not a music expert and you’ll never will be. What makes you think Shania sucks? Check the facts, dear. Fake expert.
To be fair, since there are more guys than girls in the top 6, I’d have preferred a Garth Brooks week to a Shania Twain week.
@ to Melissa, you’re saying complete nonsense! They do NOT pick ppl who the entire audience likes all the time! I am no Beatles fan, and they had a theme! They’ve had a Dolly theme, you think everyone likes her? No, everyone has what they like and don’t like. The producers pick superstars and make them the theme, period. Get over yourself.
Well, given this season’s underwhelming lot of singers, at least all the “They Didn’t Impress Me Much” headlines on Wednesday morning have already written themselves.
well, that will be the test of how talented these singers actually are then. In a season where re-arranging is so important, no one has an excuse to not come up with a good arrangement.
I agree, I’d rather see Shania as a mentor during Country week – having them sing music from one specific artist is often too limiting.
I don’t think having just one artist is limiting if it’s the right artist. Dolly Parton night was one of the best of Season 7. But she had 40 years of hits that covered the gamut from spiritual to bluegrass to pop-country to straight-up country. Shania just doesn’t have enough variation to her songs to make it an interesting night. And for people saying that selling millions of records is a good reason for an artist to be a theme, then I guess we’re ready for Miley Cyrus week, huh?
I agree with musica1. It depends on the artist they are covering. Johnny Cash week would probably be pretty awesome. His songs are covered by musicians far outside the country genre.
I’m not a big country music fan, but country week in its various permutations have provided some great and some hilarious performances. So I don’t object to there being a country week. I do think, however, that Shania Twain’s body of work is a bit too limited, especially when compared to someone like Dolly Parton (that week totally ruled season 7) or Johnny Cash, and I wish it was a broader theme.
I disagree with musica1. They had a Lionel Richie theme and a Michael Jackson and an Elvis theme. These ppl’s music doesn’t “vary”. Why does it have to? Have you heard them say that was a pre-requisite? It IS about success, and having been in the biz a long time(which makes your Miley point MOOT!). Be more objective, and not just about your Shania dislike.
I’m so sad that everyone hates this week. I’ve never been more excited for Idol!
Me too! I love Shania Twain’s music and I think with the right song choices, everyone could do well. That’s also true every other week but this should be a good week. I think Shania’s songs are different enough that everyone can find one that suits themselves.
I’m excited too! Shania sings great songs and she’ll be an awesome mentor!
I am excited! I like this theme the most out of any that have been done this season. She was a great judge and will probably be an excellent mentor too!
I don’t think so, this will be a really fun week. I love Shania Twain & I’m going to enjoy the contestant’s take on her songs. I think there is sufficient choice for them to choose something that will work for them. Aaron should definitely do an upbeat one like “Up”. I hope there won’t be too many slow songs sung.
this to me, is the most EXCITING and daring week ever! Can’t wait to see who can manage her songs and proves to be a real artist!
Shania is cool, but this is a very restrictive theme. They should open it up to all country music.
I agree
I agree, it’s a stupid theme. I didn’t know Shania Twain had six songs, let alone 50 to choose from!
so, just cause you were oblivious to her music makes the theme stupid? Huh?
That’s kind of a silly reason to object, patt. Why don’t we rename this week: Obscure Songs week? Because it sound to me as though your dislike of the artist pollutes your opinion. I thought AI was about watching the contestants adopt, arrange, and perform songs of multiple genres. Unless I was mistaken and AI’s subtitle is, “Songs Patt would like on an iPod.”
I agree. Country music would be good, or even a country artist with a more varied and larger catalogue would be okay. Shania has too many songs that are cutesy girly.
I personally think whichever contestants can do justice to these selections will continue forward in the competition. The one who can’t will no longer be with us next week.
Sometimes when you are forced into a limited space you find a way to make that space your own. Therein lies the challenge.
Elvis was a FAR FAR worse theme. At least Shania is within the last 20 years.
rolling stones, lennon-mccartney, elvis, and now shania twain. if i hear the judges complain one more time about relevance, i’m going to sock a microphone into ken warwicks mouth.
Meh. Boring week, boring contestants.
You should probably go watch Dancing with the Stars, I know we won’t miss you here at Wednesday’s recap.
<3 Rita
Dancing is far superior.
F@G!
I love how in this picture everyone is legs together, folded in to themselves, leaning, arms in (or close to sides) except Big Mike. He is the only one who looks comfortable.
Everyone else is trying to stable themselves lest they fall into Mike’s gravity well.
lol..now that’s funny Jay
Did you just imply that Big Mike is a black hole?
old john, gravity wells are not limited to black holes but the notion is nonetheless amusing.
Mike is such a big guy, the photographer is telling them all to squeeze in together so they will fit in the shot… Still think it is a good week to showcase the talents of the remaining 6….Aaron is still a favorite followed by Lee and Siobhan…
Hopefully, next weeks picture of the remaining 5 will be of 5 people standing up normally. Filling the same relative volume of space.
Mike looks comfortable stuffing his meaty palms in his pockets. What’s he doing in there anyway??? Pocket pool?
Hes obviously hiding the fact that he’s pitching a tent from being in such close proximity to Young Huey Louis.
Or else the others are all squished in because BM is taking up mass quantities of space in the picture…
Love Shania but could this Idol night be any more boring?
Too bad I gotta get through this to watch Glee
Glee! That show stinks, it’s as cheesy as watching Save By The Bell.
I LOVED Saved by the Bell! Glee is way cheesier, come on, now!
I agree. Shania is great, but I wish it was the genre of “country” in lieu of one artist.
You could always get off by watc hing FOX NEWS
Nah, too much truth there. I prefer to keep my head buried in the sand and watching American Idol.
Shania is awsome.
But it will be hard for any contestant to pull off a
Shania song and sell it.
I am really looking forward to this episode, it will be fun.
Your right, that’s why the contestants should pick more obscure Shania tracks, the cheeky ones will sound like karaoke.
I can’t wait, love Shania’s music. The third highest grossing recording artist of all time. I hope someone sings Thank You Baby, or From This Moment On. There’s so much to choose from but they should stay away from the obvious ones: Any Man of Mine,Man I feel like a Woman, I’m gonna get ya and so on.
I agree… it’s a long shot but I’m hoping someone does “Black Eyes, Blue Tears” or “It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing.” She’s got a lot of lesser known ones that could go over great.
someone MUST sing “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?”
I’m hoping someone sings “Don’t be Stupid” (despite what Michael thinks!) and “That Don’t Impress Me Much”
“that don’t impress me much” will definitely be used to some extent in the group number if nobody sings it tomorrow.
Ka-Ching can be changed into a hip hop style of a song for Big Mike. It’s got a good beat.
I agree!
lol Slezak, you aren’t REALLY suggesting high school student Aaron should sing Up are you? and Mike doing Forever and Always?
Agree…the contestants definitely need to steer clear of songs that would be too cliche for them…they all need to showcase their talents and give the judges something different ( they (the judges) will still complain…but what else is new.
It’s a shame they couldn’t have included on the song list everything that “Mutt” Lange produced. I’d rather hear a few Def Leppard tunes than anything here.
Although, it would be funny to see Big Mike try to cover, “Man, I Feel like a Woman”. He’ll probably go with “God Bless the Child” instead.
Mutt recently cheated on Shania, you seriously think AI would stoop that low or Shania would show up to represent Mutt’s music instead of hers? Weirdo!
I picked up for Aaron, too! we must have the same mind Slezak!
Yeesh.
They couldn’t have just made the theme “country?”
Shania has some decent songs, but too many hits that were pretty campy.
And with probably the weakest contestant left who is the only one who’s a “little bit country” (high school student Aaron Kelly) this could really get ugly this week.
I do almost kinda want to hear Crsytal sing “Who’s bed have your boots been under” and Siobhan try “Man, I feel like a woman” just for fits and giggles.
Even though it’s country music they can put their own spin on it and make it more rock, blues, r&b etc. I don’t see them changing their style of singing just because their country songs.
Shania was a cross over artist. In some cases she released two different versions of the same song, one for Country and one for Pop.
As far as the comment above about broadening the selection to include “Mutt’s” full catalog. That would be a big mistake, IMO not one of these contestants could pull off Def Leppard………
Agreed. It is not necessarily a sing Shania Twain songs week. I see all of the contestants doing well this week, particularily Aaron, Lee and Siobhon.
I’m not a country fan, so I can’t name more than three Shania Twain songs. That said, she was a fantastic judge during the auditions and I think she’ll provide our remaining singers with insightful, actionable suggestions. And as an added bonus, since I am unfamiliar with her catalog, I won’t know whether the performance is a carbon copy or an original interpretation, so I will be able to focus on the song. Win-win-win!
Look for Siobhan to do “From This Moment On”.
I’m taking that to the bank.
I think she should sing that or “Black Eyes, Blue Tears” which is perfect for her voice. Either way, she should do well.
Yes Walrus, perfect song for Magnus!
On second thought, it doesn’t matter what Siobhan sings. Kara won’t “get it” and Simon will just criticize her wardrobe. I think it’s been a month now since Simon said anything about her vocals.
Either song would be great for Siobhan’s voice, but she went with 3 fairly laid-back performances when judges slammed her for higher energy stuff.
Maybe she needs to consider an upbeat song.
Magnus is a fan of Shania’s so I think starts with familiarity of the catalogue and may avoid the top 40 kareoke fare.
Oh, I hope not. Shania has some great “campy” songs that would work so well with Siobhan’s dramatic flair.
As much as I hate the song “Man, I Feel Like A Woman”, I can totally see Siobhan bringing the sexy and having a moment with it. lol. That sounded dirtier than I intended.
“Wild and Wicked” is another upbeat, sexy dramatic song that would work for her. Really Shania, has so many sexy numbers, Siobhan would be stupid to do a ballad this week.
Does anyone remember when Shania recorded spoken interludes where she replaced Brad Pitt’s name with the names of local celebrities for radio stations to play? (In Columbus, OH I think it was the name of one of the evening news anchors.) Because I swear this happened. Anyway, someone could sing it and say “Okay, so you’re Simon Cowell.” It would be tragique, but I guarantee I would have to pause my DVR for like 5 minutes to laugh at it. I appreciate a little Idol campiness every now and then…
LOL! That would be pretty sweet. I, too, would pause to laugh. Just like with the bagpiper.
Better if she said “So you’re Ryan Seacrest, That don’t impress me much’.
I can’t understand why Idol would actually have a Shania Twain theme week. These singers have their work cut out for them with such a narrow song list. I wish all the contestants a lot of luck… they’re gonna need it!
With 5 albums, there’s lots to choose from and it’s only one song too. They only do this for huge stars and the other ones, they represent their genre for example Alicia Keys, not that big of a star yet.
I don’t know Will…every Idol contestant butchers Alicia Keys’ material. I don’t think it had to do with star rating.I believe they didn’t want to embarass Ms. Keys.
As for Shania week…I like the idea. It’s puts a new spin on country week, Shania has crossed over successfully from country to pop, she’s has a ton of hits, and finally she got a ton of positive feedback as a audition judge. I hope Simon picks her up as a judge for X Factor.
Would love to see a Bon Jovi week. That’s a huge catalog and a wide variety, even some country, lots of power pop metal, ballads and straight rock.