American Idol Top 11: Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood to Appear on Country Week

American Idol has gone country for the Top 11. Country superstar Randy Travis will be mentoring the contestants. This is a category that has completely destroyed a few contestants in the past, usually because they simply have not been able to convert the rhythms and rhyme-schemes of country music to their own particular vocal stylings. But some have surprised us.

Some are thinking that Anoop Desai will be the one most hard hit with this style of music, which is not a good thing, considering that he was almost sent home last week. It is also too early for the judges to use that one Save they have incorporated into the show. But Anoop "Noop Dog" Desai was raised in the South, is a student at the University of North Carolina, and wrote his college honors thesis on southern barbeque. So he might just be this week's surprise.

The ones who should -- and I say "should" because one never knows, especially if they choose a song that is ill suited to their voice -- stand out this week are Michael Sarver, Alexis Rose, Lil Rounds, Danny Gokey and Kris Allen. As long as she doesn't sing a Patsy Cline song (or something by someone else completely out of her league, like Reba McEntire), Megan Joy Corkrey should do passably well. Well enough to stay in the competition anyway. Maybe...

Reading around the the internet, many seem to think that Scott MacIntyre will have a problem this week. One article in Newsday even mentions that this may be because country music does not have many songs that lend themselves to the piano. But I beg to differ. Ronnie Milsap, also a blind pianist, racked up 40 #1 country music hits. Charlie Rich, the Silver Fox, who had several #1 hits, including the Grammy-winning crossover #1 hit "The Most Beautiful Girl." Many of Ray Charles' songs have been covered by country artists. His song "Georgia On My Mind" is a country standard. The piano rock and roller Jerry Lee Lewis had most of his later hits on the country charts. Mickey Gilley, Jerry Lee Lewis' cousin, also was a piano-banging country singer, placing 17 #1 songs in on the Billboard Country singles chart. So Scott MacIntyre shouldn't have too much of a problem finding a song. He just needs to find one that will connect with the audience, like "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis. If he wants to go the humorous route, he could do Mickey Gilley's "The Girls Get Prettier At Closing Time."

It will definitely be interesting to see what Allison Iraheta and Adam Lambert sing. Besides Lil Rounds and Alexis Grace, these two seem to have the most powerful voices, especially Adam Lambert. Will he go soft or will he find a rockin' country tune and belt it out there? I'm thinking "Wind Beneath My Wings" for Lambert. And before anyone dares correct me, Gary Morris, a few years before he performed on Broadway in "Les Miserables" took "Wind Beneath My Wings" to #1 on the Country music charts. He also did it a few years before Bette Midler recorded it for the soundtrack of "Beaches."

Allison Iraheta should do "Black Velvet" by Alannah Myles. She's got the voice for it.

The shame of it all is that Matt Giraud has already performed "Georgia On My Mind" for the American Idol judges during Hollywood Week. Of course, he could do it again, but he will have to weather the condemnation of the judges. Still, it was such a great performance that he won't have to worry about getting to the next round if he does choose to sing it one more time.

Regardless, unless somebody does extremely poorly, the bottom two vote receivers this week will probably be Megan Joy Corkrey and Anoop Desai, no matter what they sing. But if Megan Corkrey is voted off, look for the judges to use their Save vote. And that probably means that Megan Joy Corkrey AND Anoop Desai will get voted off next week.

But we shall see...

Being a country music fan, this is one week that I look forward to annually with both anticipation and dread. Inevitably, a few of the performances are going to be ear torture, doing justice neither to the songs or the artists who performed them (both on American Idol and on the radio and country charts). But, then, that is where Simon Cowell is at his best, ripping apart the person who just abused a great song and millions of viewers' ears. Country Week on American isn't anything if it isn't entertaining.

Having Randy Travis as a mentor is also a mixed blessing. A country traditionalist, his is a voice that is decidedly an acquired taste. The talent is there, even if at times the vocal stylings don't seem to hold up. His performance of a George Jones classic at the award ceremony at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a case in point. It was terrible. Period. But if left to his own material, such as country classics like "The Other Hand" and "Forever And Ever, Amen," not many -- if any -- can do it better.

Hard to say what a Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood duet will sound like. Guess we are all about to find out.

Randy Travis has racked up 16 #1 country hits in his career. He has had several gold and platinum albums. His later albums have been mostly contemporary country Christian music which, although they haven't charted well (except for 2002's "Three Wooden Crosses," which went to #1), have still sold well and garnered Travis several Dove Awards.

******

Sources:

"American Idol," Fox Television

Newsday.com

Billboard.com

Wikipedia.com