Australian Idol - Final 9

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I don't vote on Australian Idol. So I can't (and don't) complain about the eliminations. But that doesn't mean I can't critique them and let you know what those who do vote each week are getting so awfully, awfully wrong.

Such as with tonight's verdict. It was the wrong decision. Compare Lisa and Mutto's performances from last night. Mutto was all over the place (in a good way). He was interacting with the audience in a way we've never seen before on four seasons of the show. He sings well (not nasally), he moves comfortably, he's a natural performer, he's a fantastic entertainer. Lisa, meanwhile, is a Kasey Chambers clone (and a BAD one, at that -- and I'm not a fan of Kasey Chambers to begin with), and sings completely through her nasal passage. She stands stock still, uncomfortably frozen to the spot, her arms hanging limply by her sides, and is clearly lost without her guitar to hide behind. SHE IS BORING!!

By comparison, Mutto is a world-class performer. So this decision was a massive loss to the competition. He should have gone much further. Even when stacked up against Chris, Mutto's performance leaves Mr Murphy for dead. ('Primal scream' or no.)



Guy 'Mutto' Mutton:
Better Than Jesus
(at singing rock 'n' roll)

As for the others:

Damien – Another great performance. This guy is GOOD. Very good.

Bobby – Very much improved this week. Good on him for coming back with a vengeance after last week's wipe-out.

Dean – Utterly boring. Again. He should have done so much more with the performance; his movements in particular. He actually started really strongly, and I thought he might be about to prove his critics (including me) wrong. But he just stopped short of doing anything impressive (or even worthwhile). It should have been Dean or Lisa's week to go.

Lavina – Wow. She was clearly the best again this week. Does anyone doubt her abilities? Like her sister before her, she is the most deserving of the title. But also like her sister before her, she may not get it, because it's reliant upon a flawed pay-per-vote system where complete novices are the ones who swing the axe.

Chris – Good job this week, but it was still pretty yawn-worthy. And he still sounds funny.

Ricky – He did a good job this week as well, but he's pretty much the same as the other weeks. His spit-the-dummy moment with Mark after his performance was worth the cover charge alone (ie. nothing). Plus, Magical_M has now filled me in on his 'indiscretion' during the audition process (which M_M witnessed), and although it doesn't relate to his singing ability (and therefore I'll try not to let it influence my critique of his weekly performances), she's absolutely right when she says that Ricky is NOT the sort of person who should be 'rewarded' by being crowned the Australian Idol. So although there are worse performers currently sharing the stage with him, it'd be sweet justice indeed for him to get the chop. And soon.

Jessica – Still very good. She's steadily proving that she could possibly be a real contender for the Final 2.

Lisa – Boring, as discussed above.

Hopefully we can start to say good-bye to those who really need to go. Dean and Lisa need to be the first two from this point. I don't care, Mark, that Lisa'll miss out on the musical instrument week - SHE'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO HANG AROUND THAT LONG! That's her fault; not ours. And it's certainly not the fault of her fellow competitors who'd have to be eliminated in her place if she hung around for another two weeks. If she's a one-trick pony, you should have brought that week down earlier in the competition (like, Week One) to ensure that she'd still be there for it. Because as it stands, it's just a big (unfunny) joke that Lisa is still in there but Mutto's not.


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