Grease: You're The One That I Want - Aired February 11

Summer Lovin' on a cold winter night. Thank you, Grease: You're The One That I want.
Yes, "Summer Lovin'" was our opening number, and almost everyone did a swell job. Ashley Anderson showed more confidence that we've seen from her yet, but Matt Nolan once more made us question how he ever made it as far as he has. He's so out of his league in this competition that I'm feeling bad commenting on his lack of ability and it's really the fault of the producers for letting him get this much attention. What he needs more than anything else is vocal training, and it's very obvious he hasn't had any. There's no shame in needing the training and going for it. If anyone honestly thinks he currently has the voice to open a Broadway show, I'm going to have to ask why they watch with the volume on their tv off.
But enough picking on Matt! There'll be more time for that later! First, we have to hear about a new twist. It seems that the bottom two guys and bottom two gals in votes received are going to have to sing for their survival, and the panel will choose who goes home. Huh? This is the first I've heard of this rule. It's the first anyone has heard of it. It's almost like this was a last minute change in the game to prevent someone from winning who shouldn't. Remember last time around I predicted Matt would be safe this week. As soon as I heard this rule, that was my first thought. Why else would they spring this new twist out of nowhere and risk pissing off everyone who voted?
We were introduced to the panel including special guest, Andrew Lloyd Webber, then there was some footage meeting the contestants talking about the competition. If cars could run off ego, many of these people would never have to walk anywhere again. But you have to have some degree of ego to make it in that business, so it's all good.
After this it was time to find out who would make up the bottom four.
Of the men, it would be Jason and, surprise, Matt. I would have bet money that Matt got more votes than Jason, and thus the new rule. But would anyone let us know who got what? If they're planning it, it's not happening yet. I'm not surprised Jason was the other one. My entire comment on his last performance - "He sang 'Faith' and was pretty good. That's all I've got to say about him." Not exactly someone setting the show on fire.
The women were next, and the bottom two were Ashley A. and Ally. I though Ally's performance was much better than Double A's, but you never know with the voting audience and their love for plucky underdogs. Seriously, look at all the movies where the plucky underdog makes it over all the hurdles and wins. Even in the rare instance the plucky underdog loses the big game, they still win big in life because of their newfound confidence and respect. I see it all the time in watching the popularity of contestants in competitive reality shows. The people go nuts for their plucky underdogs. Stephenie in Survivor: Palau? Plucky underdog, very much loved by fans. Stephenie in Survivor: Guatemala? Ran the show, not so much loved by ex-fans. (I was still rooting for you, Stephenie!) Dancing With The Stars horror, Master P, ran out of luck when people realized that even though he was a huge underdog, he wasn't so plucky.
The point I'm trying to make is that people love their plucky underdogs, and even I'm tired of reading those two words so I'll move on to the competition, which finally started after all of this.
Max - Everybody's favourite Crumm went and got himself a haircut. He's really trying to show he can look like Danny. I wish him luck, because he does have talent. We already know he has the ability to sing, and his version of "Can You Feel The Love Tonight", while not the best version I've ever heard, was pretty darned good.
Laura - HOLY FRIGGIN' CRAP! Where the hell did she come from!?!? Last time we heard her sing, my entire review of her song was, "Good. Blah blah blah." This week she kicked some serious ass with "Jesus Christ Superstar" and moved to the front of the pack with the performance of the series so far! I'm not even going to keep you suspense with this one. Nobody touched her all night. If she keeps this up for the rest of the season, the role of Sandy could very well be hers. However, we still have some very talented women to come, and even if the night is Laura's, there are still several more weeks left. But who is her best competition? We'll see soon.
Visiting with the panel, Laura blew everyone away. Jim called Max a "master storyteller", and David was very happy with the changes he's making. Andrew Lloyd Webber loved both, but he also made some very good comments and critiques that showed he's more comfortable being in this position than Olivia Newton John was. Of course, she's a performer, whereas ALW helps put huge productions together so this is something he's fairly used to.
Derek - Ooh, backup dancers! Derek gave a good rendition of this song, but I was more impressed with his dance moves. That he was able to dance as well as he did and still sing is a good indication that he could well pull off the Danny role. His song wasn't going to take anyone's breath away, but he's very capable.
Ashley S. - Ashley Spencer, you Meg Ryan lookalike, what have you brought us? "Take That Look Off Your Face", you say? No, not say, sing and act. I loved that she not only sang this song very well, but played it on her face too. One of my issues with this competition is that we're only voting on singing. I'd like to see them really give us something different and have a week of dancing and a week of acting. The prizes here are Broadway roles, and the winners should be triple threats. Give us chances to vote on singing, dancing, and acting, and you'll stand apart from other shows a lot more.
I wasn't the only one who noticed Ashley's face. Kathleen did too and commented on just that. She loved both, as did ALW. Jim loved that Derek did dancing and singing together so well, and thought that Ashley was just wow! David though that both of them were good, but he would have liked to have seen more anger in Ashley's face.
Kevin - He did "Burning Love" with backup dancers, and was pretty good but he was no Elvis. "Grease" takes place in 1959 and there are some pretty rockin' songs in it. If these contestants are going to do it any justice, they'd better start drawing out their rock'n'roll selves.
Juliana - "Don't Cry For Me Argentina". I loved it, and thought she did an excellent job. She reached me emotionally, but what do I know? I'm just an audience member.
David, for example, thought she had too much polish. He also thought that Kevin's not sexy enough yet to be the leader of the pack. ALW thought Kevin should show more character, and that Juliana was a little insecure in some notes. Kathleen wants Kevin to show off more, and she wanted Juliana to break out more and show her feelings. Jim thought both of them could have been better. Like I asked, what do I know? These are the pros.
At this point it was time to take a break from the competition and give us some filler. There was some talk with Andrew Lloyd Webber and his thoughts on the competition. A look back at the week with the cast and talk of "Phantom of the Opera", then the cast came together to sing the eponymous song from that show. It wasn't the best cast number we've seen, but it was okay. We also got to see Billy Bush prove just how horrible he is at this job when he called their guest judge "World Wide Webber". For the first of two times that night. I'll just let that sink in for a bit.
"World Wide Webber".




IT MAKES NO FREAKIN' SENSE!
Chad - He was fighting the flu when he sang "My Eyes Adore You", but he was pretty good.
Kate - She sang "Buenos Aires", a song with a very Latin beat. She sang it very well, but I would have loved to have seen some more Latin moves to go with it. Kate's from Cincinnati, and she moved like it. Luckily we're casting Sandy in "Grease", not Carmen Miranda in "The Carmen Miranda Story".
ALW, or WWW as we'd call him if Billy Bush got his demented way, didn't watch to judge Chad because of the flu, but he loved Kate. Kathleen loved both. Jim thought Chad was a little too contained, and he liked how flirty Kate was. David thought Chad was the most romantic Danny, and that Kate is really good.
Austin - "Ease On Down The Road". I lost confidence in Austin last time, but he went up in my esteem again this week. This was a very good, fun version of the song, and he danced quite well with his backup dancers.
Kathleen - My favourite Sandy last time, she did an excellent job singing "Memory". If it wasn't for Laura's performance earlier, this would have been the song of the night.
ALW wasn't sure about Kathleen at first, but he thought she got a lot better at the end. Judge Kathleen liked how physical Austin got, and she thought that Contestant Kathleen was excellent. Jim thought Austin was really able to pull the song off, and that Kathleen was fantastic. David thought Austin was the best Danny of the night, and I have to agree with him. He thought Kathleen was wonderful, and I have to agree with him again.
With all of that out of the way, we came to the Bottom Four part of the night. There was some video showing us how they took it backstage. See, voters? Look upon the pain you have wrought! Watch them cry because you voted for someone else! I hope you're happy with yourselves.
Before the song, Billy Bush announced who got the lowest votes. Yes, it was Jason and Ally. What did I say about plucky underdogs? I almost felt like this information was given as a warning to the audience. "Look what you made us do! We didn't want to have a sing-off, but you forced it upon us!" If this doesn't tell us that the new rules were a last minute change because the producers were horrified at the thought of the plucky, yet slightly (or in the case of Matt, far) less talented underdogs making it through to the end. Personally, I love this bottom four with the panel making the final decision idea. They should have thought of it from the start. It gives the audience a chance to participate, but it keeps people who shouldn't advance from going on and knocking more talented performers out. This is what they do on Rockstar an it works. No plucky underdogs there, nosiree.
If the evidence of this being a last minute decision wasn't piling up enough already, the sing-off consisted of the bottom four taking turns singing parts of "Tears On My Pillow", the same song performed at the infamous Grease Academy massacre when they cut the contestants from 50 to 24. Jason did a good job, and Matt was the best he's been yet (showing he's got potential to sing, so I really hope he looks into getting some serious voice classes). Ally was also good, and Ashley A. was very good. But was she good enough to save her from the judges' wrath? The two times we've heard Ashley A. sing this night, she's been better and showed more confidence than we've seen from her at any other time in this process. If she was this good two weeks ago, then she would have had a much better chance.
After the singing, it was up to David to drop the axe. He said they were saving Jason and that Broadway is not for beginners, and they were saving Ally because they had no idea why she was in the bottom two Sandys. David, she was in the bottom one of the Sandys because she's not a plucky underdog!
Ashley A. was a tremendous sport about this, and she said they didn't rise to the occasion when they got their second chance. Matt said he's not giving up on his dream, which is admirable but if he's going to seriously go after that dream, he really should get training. There is definitely nothing wrong with that.
And there you have it. The bottom two were saved by this new twist. Hey, I'm all for it if it means that the most deserving move on in the competition.
The episode wasn't over yet though. The saved two still need to give their performances and try to win audience votes for next week.
Jason - He got to see "That'll Be The Day", and he gave a darned good performance with a great ending. It was one of the best, if not the best, rock'n'roll songs we've seen yet. I know, that's not saying much.
David thought he needs to improve, and Jim thought he was fine. Kathleen thinks he's too slick. AJW sees improvement in him.
Ally - She gave a very good rendition of "I Don't Know How To Love Him", proving that our field of potential Sandys far outshines our field of potential Dannys.
Kathleen thought she gave a beautiful performance. Jim wants her to let us inside (and I really hope he means metaphorically), and David agreed. AJW really likes her and wants to see her draw on the expert help she has available.
David's picks tonight for the best Danny and Sandy were Austin and Laura, Kathleen liked Derek and, being the sole dissenter when it came to Sandy, Contestant Kathleen, Jim liked Max best for Danny and ALW liked Derek.
Our two rejected competitors got a chance to sing one last song. Matt sang "Sandy", showing that he does have potential with the right training, and his "Oh, Sandy" at the end was so emotional the audience gave a very sad, "Awwwwwww!" I've been hard on Matt through this whole thing, but if he can put that kind of emotion into acting, even if he can't get his voice good enough for musical theatre, it's not the only kind of theatre out there.
Ashley Anderson sang "Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee", the reprise that Olivia Newton John sang sadly later on in the movie shortly before she made her transformation. Ashley A. killed it. Damn, she was good. If she had been able to bring that confidence and emotion with her earlier, she would have easily still been in the running.
Really, she was that good. I wish them both much success in chasing their dreams, but Ashley Anderson is definitely that much closer to making it happen.





Plucky underdogs.