What I’d like to suggest the “American Idol” Top 4 do is NOT sing songs by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. But unfortunately that’s the entire theme. So they’ll be singing only songs from that song-writing duo of the “post World War II” era. Yeah, that’s how Wikipedia explains them. That’s kind of a long time ago. But hey, they wrote some good songs so there’s no point in dwelling on the fact that teenagers and 20-somethings are being forced to sing songs as old as their grandparents.
That being said, here’s what I think the Top 4 should sing from Leiber and Stoller’s song list.
*Haley Reinhart, “I’m a Woman” by various artists. Now this song seems almost too predictable for Haley. It’s bluesy, it’s soul-ful, it’s empowering. But I think it would be a good choice for her. Even if Melinda Doolittle did sing the song during her season. I know a lot of people don’t think songs should be repeated. But it doesn’t bother me as long as the song isn’t the way-overdone “Alone” by Heart or “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins.
*Lauren Alaina, “I (Who Have Nothing)” (Shirley Bassey’s version). Again, this song has been done on “Idol” (Jordin Sparks), but it’s a pretty good and powerful song. Lauren could have a moment, despite how old the song is. But that’s the case with all these songs. It’s actually kind of frustrating. Maybe Lauren could do “Stand By Me.” While it’s been done on the show also, I don’t really remember it being done by a girl.
*Scotty McCrerry, “There Goes My Baby” by The Drifters. I’m not sure this song will work with a twang, but it has a lot of potential for a modern twist. And there are some pretty low parts that Scotty could handle well. This is a tough theme for Scotty when you throw out the Elvis songs. I don’t think he should sing a third Elvis song this season. But if he did, he could handle “Love Me” maybe.
*James Durbin, “Kansas City” (The Beatles’ version). This has a pretty serious rock vibe for its time, so I think it could be right up James’ alley. Like Scotty, there aren’t a lot of songs that scream “James,” but he can easily make something his own.
I haven’t heard if the other part of the show will be more singles or duets and if the song selections change. Oh “Idol,” do you even know?
What are your song suggestions for the Top 4?