I’m a little late with my Australian Idol recap this week. Blame the heady excitement, then crushing defeat of the NRL grand final. When you’ve waited 23 years for your team to taste victory, it takes a few beverages to ease the pain of loss. But I digress.
Last night was Pink night on Idol, which may very well be the lamest excuse for a theme ever. That’s particularly true when the colourful one herself is nowhere to be seen. I think there should be a rule that there can’t be a performer-centric Idol theme until that person or band has notched up at least 15 years in the biz. But again, I digress.
Before we were saturated with Pinkness it was time to send one Idol packing. With all the girls safe, we were left with an all-male bottom three. Those unlucky lads in for a nervous wait were Scott Newnham, James Johnson, and Tim Johnson. I really didn’t mind who left us, although I felt James had definitely done enough to stay. As it turned out, we said goodbye to Mr Bland, Tim Johnson. I’ll probably miss his generically handsome face, but that’s about all.
Nathan Brake lived up to his early promise with an incredible performance of “Just Like a Pill.” I love Nathan more than any other Idol, so I may be a little biased, but I thought this was brilliant. He stripped back the layers and allowed himself to be raw, vulnerable and beautiful. He seemed on the verge of tears through most of it, and that was compelling. I haven’t been wowed by Nathan in recent weeks, and that was making me nervous. This was just what I needed to hear from him.
After tonight’s stint in the bottom three, Scott Newnham needed to pull out something special. “So What” may have been the worst possible song choice for him. This is where experience comes in. The song isn’t dynamic enough to really showcase what he can do. It’s a lot of fun to belt out in the car, but that’s about all. The result was something that felt incredibly karaoke. I also didn’t see him connecting with the lyric, which was the only thing that could have saved it. Far too much joy, not enough venom.
Stan Walker reminded me a little of my Parramatta Eels this week. It was clear that something was wrong in the first section of the song. He could have so easily have fallen in a heap. But he picked himself up and kept going to create something that, in the end, he could be proud of. His performance of “Dear Mr President” wasn’t the best of the night because of its early flaws. But it was wonderful and moving nonetheless.
Kate Cook gave another solid performance was Pink’s “Trouble.” I liked the country treatment. It was a very natural makeover, and one that really sat in the pocket for her. But it didn’t really jump off the page for me. It was a little bit Idol by Numbers.
James Johnson delivered a stripped-back ballad-style take on “Who Knew.” It was a risky revamp, and not one that I particularly liked. James sang really well, but I thought the song lost its urgency. It was poorer for it. I’ve been enjoying James in the last few weeks, despite my earlier reservations, but this didn’t hit the mark for me.
I was thrilled to see Kim Cooper escape the bottom three last week. Is Australia finally warming to her? If so, her performance of “Family Portrait” should be enough to keep them onside. It was beautifully understated and genuine. I love the way she built it. This was a very mature performance.
Toby Moulton was just OK this week. I expected Pink week to be a bit of a banana skin for this silky-toned singer, and it was. “Please Don’t Leave Me” probably wasn’t the right song for him – it really did come off a little stalkerish – but I’m not sure what would have been. Hopefully his fans rally to support him, because I’d love to see what he can do with next week’s Big Band night.
Just as I expected Toby to do badly this week, I expected Hayley Warner to excel. She did just that with a killer rendition of “Funhouse.” It had just the right amount of energy, attitude, and quirk. In fact, I think this may have been better than Pink’s version!
My money’s on Scott Newnham to go this week. After one stint in the bottom three, I’m not sure his fans will forgive another lacklustre performance.