Image Credit: Michael Becker/Fox; Inset: Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesIn five short days, the four remaining contestants of American Idol‘s ninth season will hit the stage and tackle “Songs of the Cinema” under the watchful eye of guest mentor Jamie Foxx. Still, judging from the list of 34 potential genre tracks Idol has posted on iTunes (and listed after the jump), the theme could just as easily be called Tragic Treacle Week. I mean, come on now, how are these cats supposed to sound “current” or “relevant” tackling tracks like “Eye of the Tiger” or “Beauty and the Beast” or that Tina Turner jam with the word “Thunderdome” in it?
I’ve put a call in to execs at Fox and 19 to see if someone can explain to me the logic behind a “Songs of the Cinema” redux, and more specifically the potential set of songs at iTunes. (A Fox spokesperson points out that contestants are by no means limited to the 34 tracks on iTunes…so perhaps there’s not cause for a total emotional shutdown. Check back at this space for updates, and I’ll post a link if I manage to score an enlightening interview with Idol brass.)
Anyhow, I’ve taken the liberty of posting a pair of dream set lists below: One using the 34 iTunes tracks, and one that’s not beholden to such lame-o selections. Check ‘em out, then post your own picks in the comments section. Also note: There are a ton of duets posted on the iTunes page, so I am suspecting (and awaiting confirmation from Fox) that just like season 8′s top 4 week, we’ll get four solo performances and two duets. (Warning: Anyone who chooses ‘Tasia’s “Summertime” should be dragged into the street and caned put in the Idol penalty box.) And to get all my Idol news and commentary, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak.
Dream Set List
Crystal Bowersox: Talking Heads’ “Burning Down the House” (Stop Making Sense) (kind of a cheat to use a concert movie, but so what?!)
Lee DeWyze: Modern English’s “I Melt With You” (Valley Girl)
Michael Lynche: Diana Ross’ “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” (Mahogany)
Casey James: Prince’s “When Doves Cry” (Purple Rain)
Crystal & Lee: The Isley Bros.’ “It’s Your Thing” (Out of Sight)
Casey & Mike: Bobby Womack’s “Across 110th Street” (Across 110th Street)
Set List Using Idol iTunes Track List
Crystal Bowersox: Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me”
Lee DeWyze: Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” (stripped down to just an acoustic guitar)
Michael Lynche: Carly Simon’s “Let the River Run”
Casey James: Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris”
Crystal & Lee: The Fifth Dimension’s “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”
Casey & Mike: Bryan Adams’s “Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman” (ugh…not many options, folks…sorry!)
iTunes “Songs of the Cinema” Listing
“(Everything I Do) I Do It For You”: Bryan Adams
“(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”: Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes
“A Whole New World”: Brad Kane & Lea Salonga
“Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In”: The 5th Dimension
“Arthur’s Theme (Best That You Can Do)”: Christopher Cross
“Beauty and the Beast”: Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson
“Can I Have This Dance”: Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron & the Cast of HS Musical
“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”: Elton John & London Community Gospel Choir
“Can’t Fight the Moonlight”: LeAnn Rimes
“Danger Zone”: Kenny Loggins
“Don’t You Forget About Me”: Simple Minds
“Endless Love”: Lionel Richie & Diana Ross
“Evergreen”: Barbra Streisand
“Eye of the Tiger”: Survivor
“Flashdance (What a Feeling)”: Irene Cara
“Footloose”: Kenny Loggins
“Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman”: Bryan Adams
“I’m Alright (Theme from Caddyshack)”: Kenny Loggins
“Into the West”: Howard Shore and Annie Lennox
“Iris”: Goo Goo Dolls
“It Might Be You (from Tootsie)”: Stephen Bishop
“Kiss From a Rose”: Seal
“Let the River Run”: Carly Simon
“Moon River (from Moon River)”: Audrey Hepburn & Henry Mancini
“Mrs. Robinson”: Simon & Garfunkel
“My Heart Will Go On”: Celine Dion
“One Night Only”: Jennifer Hudson, Deena Jones & The Dreams
“Over the Rainbow”: Judy Garland
“Separate Lives”: Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin
“Summertime”: Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
“Take My Breath Away (Love Theme from Top Gun)”: Berlin
“Up Where We Belong”: Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes
“We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”: Tina Turner
“You’ll Be in My Heart”: Glenn Close & Phil Collins
Why does Lee look like that?
he’s stoned all the time? lol
Lee or Crystal deserved to win.
But Idol is rigged they will rob either one of them.
Just like they did with Anoop Desai and Adam Lambert.
You mean crystal right?
Maybe he doesn’t like wearing ties. He looks like he wants to get out of that formal outfit and switch to his shirt and jeans once the cameras are taken.
Lee’s still in recovery mode. First he loses man-crush Andrew Garcia then special friend Siobhan. Despite his wounded soul, Lee perserveres! Just a likeable guy and his hurt puppy thing just adds to it.
Of course, in a few weeks Andrew and Siobhan are back for Finals and then all start rehearsals then do summer tour.
If Lee wins it, I think he has the option of a duet on tour with one of the other contestants. He & Andrew might mesh well. Siobhan has a – what? uniqueness? to her that makes a Lee/Siobhan duet harder to see but they might…. just come up with something magical, if not on tour, in studio after their Idol S9 contracts end. As both, along with Crystal, are writing original songs. (Crystal, Lee, Siobhan will be signed to something after their Idol S9 contract expires, IMO)
Lee HAS to sing Iris. I mean, come on. He could have a total Idol moment with that song.
Ugh. That’s the song I always planned to do if I ever decided to go on Idol. haha
That’s the song I planned to audition with if I ever had the guts to do it!
100% agree with you Sam. Definite Idol moment, especially if he goes completely accoustic.
too cliche Lee, he wouldn’t be stepping out of his box and tryings omething new! Don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE to hear him sing that song, because I know it would be beautiful…but he needs to WOW the audience with something AWESOME!
SOO meant to say something…not tryings omething lol sry
He’s not a “new” kind of artist. He doesn’t change things up that often. If he tries to, he might really wreck his chances at a shot at the finale.
What I don’t understand: Why would Casey sing Iris? There are a lot of notes that would illicit a serious bleating noise from him.
It’s too bad Anoop isn’t on this season – he could sing “Jai Ho”. Instead i think I’d like to see Lee do it instead. And Casey should do “Lose Yourself” by Eminem. Crystal should do “Gangsta’s Paradise” and Big mike should just go home.
totally agree about “iris”. that’s for lee not billy goat gruff, i mean casey.
and what? totally destroy the song? of course he will!
Casey is req’d to do Footloose, IMO. I mean, c’mon, that’s totally his vibe.
Agree agree agree
I think Casey is the only one who can spit the words out on “Footloose”.
But if he does that song Simon will say it’s “Karayoke, boring, and I’ve heard better singing at a drunken fraternity bonfire”.
i can already imagine him singing it… and simon on his feet…
when i checked iTunes for the track list, i wanted lee to sing it SO BADLY… hope he does.
I love Iris and its waltzy, swaying feel. I really imagine Lee singing that Goo Goo Dolls song with his gruffy voice.
I totally agree
do it his way he can hit that one way way out of the park.
What a crappy list of songs.
I bet Idol got confused and thought they were Glee — and they’re doing Glee’s “pick an embarrassing cheesy song and redeem it” thing….
Crappy, indeed. And to be performed by people who sing off tune, more than on (excepting Crystal). What an exciting night of music!
I love “Take My Breath Away” for Lee especially if he goes acoustic, and slows it down. Could be epic if he puts some emotion into it.
Could be epic if he hits one note on key!
Glad someone said it!!
two notes on key and he would finally have his idol “moment”
If you don’t have anything nice to say, go away, bob. Your negativity is getting real old.
I have nice things to say..I think Lee is fine when he does sing on key it just doesn’t happen that often..I know you like him because you think he’s cute..that’s great…you can buy his CD and stare at the cover picture
Amen naynay. This is a tough song as it is and Lee is very limited vocally.
Hate to break it to yall, but Crystal’s upper register is horrible. She really can’t hit those high notes at all.
All of you, except Terry, are right on target! I’m a vocal coach and believe me I know pitch problems when I hear them. Lee will without a doubt have to rely heavily on autotune if he ever records a CD.
Does he have any emotions?
Yes he does. Too bad you can’t recognize it.
Too bad me, Adam Lambert, the judges and the rest of the world you mean.
MamaSox should totally sing Let the River run….she could NAIL that
ooooh yes
I think she could also hit “Into the West” out of the park (as a kind of a gospel ballad) – perhaps a more obscure choice, but a great song.
totally agree with this one too. i already made my choices last night and i think “into the west” could put mamasox back on course. only problem, the song is dreamy-ish (wow, so not a word) and obscure. regular voters probably won’t get it’s beautiful, haunting lullaby quality. people who know good music would though.
Into The West is what I’d like to hear Crystal sing also. It’s beautiful, and she could do her own thing with it, as long as the judges don’t expect her to sing like Annie Lennox. (which no one can). Crystal’s take would be interesting and lovely, I’m sure.
MamaSox and Let the River Run. I thought of that combination when I heard the theme, but before I saw the list. It would be amazing.
I hate her being referred to as Mamasox. Everybody should just stop that now.
she actually likes the name herself.. what’s wrong with it?
Yeah, either Into the West or River Run would be great for Crystal–but no love out there for Crystal doing One Night Only, the soulful version?
I think she’d do great on The Weary Kind.
I also want to add that “obscure” song that Kris Allen did last year for this week “Falling Slowly”. That was the first time I ever bought an idol song off ITunes (I also ended up buying Allen’s Aint No Sunshine”).
But i don’t know if any of these contestants will be able to be on Allen’s level or even come close. That was such an amazing moment. Although Summertime by Fantasia will never be matched either.
Sigh… I miss the old Idol.
Please,someone follow Kris Allen’s lead and request a song not on the list! To quote Idolatry,”no more Mary Eliabth Mastrantonio in the mist”!
Oops, Elizabeth.
yeah well..Randy said he liked Aaron last week too..so I wouldn’t put a lot of stock into what he says
Falling Slowly is on the list this year. I am surprised Slezak didn’t threaten anyone who covered his precious Kris’ song.
You leave M.E.M alone! She can play misty for me any day.
Falling Slowly would be a great song for Crystal…plus she loves Glen Hansaard..but the dopey judges would just trash her again for being too low key..they want big notes from her like she said..never mind that she is the only one left who consistently stays “in tune as HCJ called it..the judges haven’t appreciated her last two lower key performances…and ellen should just shut up about music and keep trying to be funny..because when she talks about music she sounds stupider than Kara..if that’s possible
Maybe the judges didn’t appreciate Crystal’s last two “lower-key” performance because as Randy would say–they were sleepy.
@@bobsaccamanna – Maybe YOU were sleepy when she was singing and totally missed how awesome she was.
They need to do something else, not be so trapped to the list. We’ve heard those other songs done over and over on the show; I think Crystal is the only one to do something obscure. I think she should do something from the Crazy Heart soundtrack with her folk rock approach.
I think they have to follow the rule of a song that was written for a movie. So sadly it can’t be a song that was just USED in a movie but not written for it.
Pretty sure that’s just the Oscars. “Summertime” wasn’t written for the movie.
With all of the great soundtracks in all of the films ever, this is the list these people came up with? Seriously??? And they wonder why their ratings are shrinking each week.
casey-don’t you forget about me
crystal- over the rainbow or summertime
lee- i’m alright
mike- have you ever really loved a woman
Goddamn there are some bad movie songs. The list is mostly the soundtrack of hell from the 80s. Bleah. This is like the perfect storm – mediocre talent and bad songs.
actually now i think crystal should sing into the west. listening to it now and it’d be perfect for her!
I completely agree. It could seal the deal for Crystal.
cool I’m not alone. posted my comment about into the west before reading yours. Here’s hoping.
Totally on board with dat!
I like that for Crystal too..it’s the best out of a really bad list of songs..
Yes, please! I worry a little that my undying love for LOTR in all its manifestations is blinding me, but I LOVE “Into the West” – I think it’s gorgeous. I’d prefer if Crystal sang it, but I don’t know if it would be best for her – the judges seem to want her to rock harder and bigger than she might be able to do with that song. But I’ll take ANY of the contestants singing it!
There are a couple of songs that I just adore on that list. Into the West is hardcore one of them. If anyone does it well, I want them to win. If they mutilate it, and don’t go home for it, that won’t be OK.
Anything Disney is the same. Unless they bring Jennifer Hudson Circle of Life quality to it, they shouldn’t even step on the stage.
I would love a Casey-Crystal duet their bluesy voices are bound to mesh well. The smoothness of Big Mike’s and the raspiness of Lee’s are also going to blend well together!
Agree! Would absolutely love to see Casey and Crystal sing together!
Absolutely–they are the 2 best singers among a group of ho-hum contestents.
Totally. Slezak only wants Crystal and Lee because he always puts his favorites together.
Diffently! Would love to hear them sing together.! Better then Mike and Casey! for sure!
Casey does not sing well
Who made you vocal coach?
LEE and Crystal should do Top Gun. No, not that song. They should do Danger Zone, with Lee on electric and them both on 5 Red Bulls. Yeah! *air guitar move*
Ugh this sounds horrible. Not as horrible as the prospect of having to listen to that screechy douche Adam Lambert or Barack Obama, America’s Terrorist, but still pretty bad…
Please go away LaLa I am sick of reading your hate comments.
just ignore her. people like lala want you to respond to them
Couldn’t agree more. lala is totally on point.
C- trolling, gb2vftw
Csaey should sing Fallin’ and Flying’ from Crazy Heart
Actually there’s a few songs from Crazy Heart, Casey could take his pick.