American Idol: Tribute to the Bleak Gees

Clicking through the Bee Gees: Their Greatest Hits on Amazon.com this morning trying to figure out if Bee Gees night had to be the mess that it was. Could the contestants have picked songs that would have turned the night around? (Admittedly, my familiarity with the Bee Gees doesn't extend too far beyond "Staying Alive")

I stand by my belief that Bee Gees night came too late in the competition, but it turns out there are some numbers that may have suited the singers better than those that were chosen.

Jordin still wins the prize for best song choice. "To Love Somebody" was a solid pick and "I Am A Woman In Love" was an advantageous choice but a great song (check out Barbra Streisand's definitive version).

This morning I stumble across "I Started a Joke" and I'm disappointed that no one picked this. The lyrics are sad (see sample lyric below) but would have offered the chance for someone to show a controlled performance that still has some soaring vocals. It's a melancholy song but it has a great vibe to it.

Sample lyric: I started a joke, which started the whole world crying,
but I didn't see that the joke was on me, oh no.

Or what about "First of May"? The words are sweet and the melody is simple - reminiscent of early Beatles. Actually, this reminds me a bit of "You Don't Bring Me Flowers" by Neil Diamond and Barbra Streisand.

Sample lyric: When I was small, and Christmas trees were tall,
We used to love while others used to play.
Don't ask me why, but time has passed us by,
Some one else moved in from far away.

And there are a host of other good picks that fell by the wayside. What about "Emotion"? Destiny's Child covered this a few years ago and Jordin, Melinda or Lakisha could have had a home run if they had given it a whirl.

"How Deep Is Your Love" would have been a chance to show off range. "Guilty" is another Barbra Streisand tune that any of the girls could have tackled. And I have no problems envisioning Mindy Doo or Kiki doing "If I Can't Have You" or "Islands In the Stream."

Side note: I realized as I went through this list that I actually own a Bee Gees cassette (that's right, cassette). I'm suddenly transported back to sixth grade when I fell in love with "One" and purchased the single from someplace like K-Mart. Too funny.

In any case, I hope the AI producers realized the disaster they created last night and steer clear of any ABBA night in future seasons.

A few more thoughts from last night - Is it just me or does Barry Gibb sound like Sean Connery? We had a great time mimicking his strange accent. And finally, did Blake run into a freak bleach shower before his second song last night. I did not understand the skunk streak in his hair or the way his shirt seemed to randomly lose the plaid pattern on the left sleeve. Bleach shower is the best explanation I can come up with.

(Mollee Francisco is a staff writer for the Chaska Herald. She can be reached at mfrancisco@swpub.com.)

What show was I watching last night??? I completely missed Blake's beat boxing and bleach shower in the second song (which I actually enjoyed). Perhaps I was enjoying the performance too much. And it irks me that the judges slam him for weeks...go back to being original, not everything has to be a straight performance, yadda yadda yadda...and then slam him for beat boxing last night. Whatev.

I was really hoping for "How Deep is Your Love" and "Emotions" last night. Perhaps next season!

I did catch the Sean Connery accent. I couldn't decide if it was real-life Sean Connery or the SNL Jeopardy Sean Connery. Either way, I enjoyed it!

Since I'm sure Jordin is safe (as is Melinda), I hope Lakisha goes home. However, I think it may be Blake's time. :(