You Can’t Always Get What You Want

The problem I have (ok one of them) with Canadian and American Idol is the songs. More often than not the contestants appear to be singing to their parents, maybe even their grandparents – anything but their own generation. It just never seems to fit. Of course who am I dispute the numbers – the No. 1 show in Canada, millions of views in the U.S., etc., etc. The producers clearly know what they are up to.

That being said, when I got the opportunity to attend Monday’s taping of the top nine performances, I was intrigued by the theme – the music of The Rolling Stones. The Stones? I guess it’s a long time since they were considered dangerous, something driven home to me when I saw their music linked to the Multigrain Honey Nut Cheerios recap. But hey, good music is good music.

Beats me how CTV managed to snag the rights to plunder the Stones back catalogue, but the band announced their plans for a North American tour today, less than 24 hours after their hour-long tribute by some of the most visible singers in Canada. Probably just a coincidence.

While most of these kids probably only knew who the Stones are and not their music, they are actually around the same age Mick Jagger and Keith Richards started the band. With a band playing some of the best rock music ever written, all the singers had to do was not screw up their song and they were golden.

I don’t really have the desire to recap the show, so if you’d like a song-by-song analysis, check out Reality News Online and Foxes on Idol, who both do a good job summing it up. What I did find interesting is the difference between watching the show on TV and seeing the songs performed live. There really is energy in the theatre, with over 1,000 people screaming and cheering each song. Sure, the staff does everything to hype up the crowd before the show and during the commercials, but there is genuine excitement in the air. I’ve always thought the judges are too soft on the singers, but I can see how they can get caught up in the moment. We were up in the balcony, but it was still bigger than the small screen. I even resisted tossing my gum at Ben Mulroney’s well-coifed hair.

So how’d they do? So-so. Eva Avila’s version of "Wild Horses" was powerful and Steffi D’s "Miss You" was quirky fun. The others were okay and, because I’m foolhardy, I’ll take a stab at the bottom three: Sarah Loverock’s "I Got the Blues", Chad Doucette’s "You Can’t Always Get What You Want" and Brandon Jones will be going home courtesy of his painful version of "Jumping Jack Flash." We’ll see tonight if I know what I'm talking about.

Update:
Well, what the hell do I know? The bottom three were Ashley Coulter, Steffi D. and Sarah Loverock. Sarah was sent home and I'm 1/3 for my picks. I admit that I haven't followed the season very closely, so I don't know who the crowd faves are, but based on the performances the voters don't know what they are doing. But I would think that, wouldn't I?