Canadian Idol: R'N'R Heaven

07/22/08 11:14am

by Michelle Singerman (CHARTattack)

The nine remaining Canadian Idol hopefuls took to the stage Monday night in an attempt to prove their worthiness to Canadians. Most of them failed.

Monday's show was dubbed "Rock 'N' Roll Heaven," which lends itself to plenty of opportunity and potential. But what seemed like a good idea in theory wasn't followed through very well. The provided song list was stacked with the works of passed musicians such as Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Bob Marley, but amateur singers with inflated egos couldn't carry out the well-known and well-received songs like I had hoped — but not expected. One never wants to hear respectable music torn apart, though that's what we were subjected to on Monday.

First up was Theo Tams, who, in my eyes, gave his worst performance of the season. Marley is hard for anyone to emulate, especially a clean-cut white boy. His rendition of "No Woman, No Cry" was probably better than most could pull off, but it still wasn't right. Even with musical arrangements tweaked to make the song more tailored for Tams, he didn't quite get it. In my opinion, he killed everything behind the song. There was no emotion or feeling behind the execution. The judges were fairly impressed with Tams, though. Zack Werner topped it off by saying, "I actually think it was the best thing you've done." I disagree and say the performance was an insult to Marley.

It didn't get much better from there. Mitch MacDonald — who's in the midst of growing a beard in a failing attempt to curb his nice boy image — performed the Jeff Healey Band's "Angel Eyes." I didn't particularly like it, but Sass Jordan said the late Healey would have approved of the performance. Werner and I saw eye to eye on this one, especially when he admitted to finding MacDonald's voice "annoying."

Earl Stevenson had his usual cool vibe and performed Jose Feliciano's version of The Doors' "Light My Fire." It was a fun interpretation and he did a pretty good job, though it wasn't the best cover I've heard. The judges praised his performance and Farley Flex said Stevenson is "intelligent, smart and charismatic." I agree, but he didn't blow me away.

Sebastian Pigott was next with Elvis Presley's version of "Love Me." Once my favourite, Pigott is now fighting to retain that honour. He still looked the part of a classic '50s Hollywood star, which for some reason never fails to make me swoon, but he struggled with the song a bit. He certainly warmed up as the performance carried on, but it was a bit awkward in the beginning. Jake Gold called him on it, saying Pigott was "really out of tune off the top." Flex went one step further by saying, "You're a superstar, but just not in the music business."

When Katherine St-Laurent's name was announced to perform Janis Joplin's "Move Over," I knew the song would be butchered. She had some OK moments, but I couldn't stand the arrangement she chose for the bridge and the performance felt much longer than one minute. Finally, after all these weeks, the judges agreed with me on St-Laurent. Gold didn't think her performance was angry enough and Jordan admitted the song is tough to sing. Flex came out with the ultimate insult, and said maturity was missing from her performance. He told St-Laurent to ask someone about the meaning behind a song if she's unsure. Ouch.

Drew Wright followed with a much stronger performance, singing Blind Melon's "No Rain." Perhaps because he wasn't playing an instrument for the first time, he tried too hard in places, but was able to emulate deceased lead singer Shannon Hoon's coo in other parts. The judges approved of the song, but didn't think the performance was quite smooth enough. Host Ben Mulroney made the show by coming out dressed in a bee costume after Wright's performance, just like the "Bee Girl" from the "No Rain" video.

Mookie Morris stole the show once again with James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)." Besides his stellar vocal performance, Morris worked the crowd by moving in and out of the aisles as he sang. He ended the song on his back. Morris' transformation into stardom continues each week. Flex gave the seal of approval by saying, "You did all the right things, buddy. Good job."

As soon as Amberly Thiessen was announced to sing Marley's "Redemption Song," I uncontrollably yelled out, "Fuck, no!" I knew she'd ruin it. It turned out better than anticipated, but I'm still not a fan. The judges are, though, and I have a feeling she'll stick around for another week. Boo!

Last but not least was Mark Day, whose performance of Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father" was probably the best thing we've seen from him all season. At times his voice couldn't go quite deep enough, but it grew stronger as the song went on. The judges all approved of his performance. It was a vast improvement from the creepy dancing we've seen in previous weeks, and now I'm not as convinced that Day should be the one to go home.

It won't be long before the verdict is in. The results show airs Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT.