Anyone who says this season of Australian Idol is boring may just have to eat their words. Tonight’s episode started with a curveball, as Toby Moulton announced he was withdrawing from the competition. It seems his love for his students and the teaching profession far outweighs the passion he has for music. It was a beautiful thing, and a fitting end to the Idol journey of such a humble contestant. I was surprised that the verdict was still read, but in the end I’m glad it was. For it seems Toby’s selfless act kept James Johnston in the competition. He’s a good kid, and I’m glad he’s got a reprieve.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubxywbrlU70]
Nathan Brake kicked off proceedings with Ne-Yo’s “Closer.” I was a bit worried by the song choice, fearing that he wouldn’t have the edge to pull it off. Silly me. Nathan seems to be able to turn his hand to anything, and that includes this cool, sexy, R’n’B ditty. I really enjoyed this.
I can’t say the same thing for James Johnston’s take on “Daughters.” I’m a massive John Mayer fan, so maybe that means I’m a little harder on James than most. But I didn’t feel this at all. It came across as more about singing well that connecting. He did the former, but the latter is just as important, if not more so.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGTAZr6MksQ]
Stan Walker was back to his R’n’B shtick with Mario’s “Let Me Love You.” I agree with the judges’ comments that the original version would have been much better suited – it’s more melodic and generally more impressive. But with what he had to work with, he sang the hell out of it and performed the hell out of it. This was enjoyable – Stan always is – but it didn’t wow me.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-W9LkjGqoI]
Hayley Warner turned her hand to Gossip’s “Heavy Cross.” It was a very cool song choice, but it didn’t quite come off for me. The vocals were unusually lacking here. Even though she performed the pants off it, the pitchy parts really detracted from this performance for me.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnxAEfZT_f0]
Nathan Brake continues to wow me. Daniel Merriweather’s “Red” is one of the best songs of the year, and I believe Nathan really did it justice. Yes, there were vocal flaws. But the way he connected with this track transcended all that. I was just as teary as he was by the end.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67JeDFUaZHQ]
I’m not sure why James keeps butchering songs by my favourite performers. Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but he’s no Rob Thomas. He simply doesn’t have the balls for a song like “This Is How a Heart Breaks.” He hasn’t lived enough. He was note perfect. He performed too, but in a superficial way. The lyrics are so raw that they bleed, but this was just lukewarm for me. Again, perhaps I’m a bit harsh because I love the original so much, but it felt underbaked.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3qGCujovJ4]
Who would have thought that Stan’s best performance tonight would come courtesy of a Miley Cyrus song? Say what you want about the spawn of Billy Ray; she has some killer songs. This could easily have been an Idol winner’s song; it had just the right amount of inspiration and cheese. I lapped this up.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKxEl47GMEs]
Hayley Warner came back with Fall Out Boy’s “I Don’t Care.” I’m not sure this was the best song she could have chosen, but I think she did as much as she could with it. She added more dynamics and performed her butt off. I couldn’t get as excited as the judges did, but this wasn’t bad.
I’m not sure James did enough to convince us he deserved that second chance. I predict that next week his number may be up.