Marksworld: Multimedia Adventures of Mark Davis

Idol Top 6

 

 

PREVIOUSLY:  We have a whole week missed from my NYC trip, so let’s just get current in a hurry.  Jessica does very little for me beyond impress me with the technical strength of her voice, but saving her was exactly the right thing to do.  So as the Top 7 rolled out last week, HOLLIE saved herself for at least one more week, SKYLAR and PHILLIP showed why they should be the top 2, ELISE continued to flounder with bad song choices and crappy attitude, JOSHUA rode that one-trick pony-- but it’s a really good trick-- and COLTON got exactly what he deserved.  A fine and talented young man, and I actually liked his swing through Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”  But that slaughter of Earth Wind and Fire’s “September” was just a crime.

So let’s go with the final half-dozen:

Queen?  Really?  I love Queen, they were part of the soundtrack of my high school and college years-- but there is something increasingly odd about having contestants who were not even born during their prime singing their stuff.  If Idol were on in 1985, would the contestants be doing Buddy Holly records?

Watching poor Brian May and Roger Taylor endure the fairly inane company of our finalists was pretty painful.    But when they took to the stage, the harmonies of “Fat Bottomed Girls” were pretty spot-on (and probably pre-taped), and it was a joy to see the old boys onstage-- with anybody.  But it was such a disconnect with the wheelhouses of these kids, who clearly have no bond with the material, except maybe Old Soul Phillip.   Probably just Old Guy syndrome from me, let’s press on.

But wait.  JESSICA doing Bohemian Rhapsody is just too much.  Simply ridiculous.  And there is no arrangement that can boil the six minutes of this classic into the canned 2:30 needed for Idol.  Constantine Maroulis did a nice job back in Season 4, but this was just awful.

Now we get one of my least favorite Queen records, “The Show Must Go On,” tackled by my co-favorite contestant SKYLAR.  It is a huge challenge for the country chick, but she managed it just fine.  

Okay, there’s something the matter with me about JOSHUA LEDET.  I am just so underwhelmed.  “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” is Freddie Mercury’s Elvis turn, and Joshua just screwed it up, I’m sorry.

Queen puts things back into ELISE’S comfort zone, and all she gets is the tedium of  ”I Want it All?”  There are fifteen album cuts I could have given her that would have been superb.  This was just okay, but that’s better than she’s been for a while.

My favorite contestant plus one of my fave Queen songs.  Gotta rock, right?  Why didn’t I like it more?  Maybe a case of bad match.  “Fat Bottomed Girls”  is not the song for PHILLIP, but he is still a singular talent.

HOLLIE is burdened with another sappy spare from the Queen collection, “Save Me,” from “The Game” (1980, after their prime).  But she sang it well and may survive the week.

Round two, songs they pick.

I’m a sucker for back story, especially if it’s real.  JESSICA singing a song for her military Dad is guaranteed to get to me, and Luther’s “Dance With My Father” is a favorite for me. But there’s a problem-- this is a song for a man, quite frankly, and a man whose Dad has been gone for a while.  This was just wrong.  Hearing her sing “when I was a child” when she IS a child-- it just didn’t connect for me.

(And we have another problem-- Dad is apparently ON THE SHOW next week.  Am I the only person whose head explodes when they throw loved ones onstage in a move guaranteed to skew voting in what is essentially a popularity contest?)

At some point someone will have to explain to me how Jason Aldean became such a big deal.  I don’t get it.  But anything in SKYLAR’S hands turns to gold, and even the lame “Tattoos on This Town” was another burst of fun.

Nice song choice for JOSHUA as he goes a little unpredictable with India Arie’s “Ready for Love.”  Was it good?  Sure.  Did the judges love it?  Sure.  Did I care?  Nope.  

ELISE doing Hendrix.  Ought to work, right?  Well, nothing this girl does seems to work any more, and I think she could be headed home.  Note to Steven: you do NOT have to do songs people know.  Five minutes ago, every judge drooled all over Joshua doing a record no one knew, so please.

You knew it had to happen at some point. PHILLIP singing some Dave Mathews, in this case “The Stone.”  Quirky.  Challenging.  And I loved it.  But I wonder what the voting audience thought.  If he avoids the Bottom 3 here, it will mean he has a strong, strong fan base that loves whatever he does.  And I hope that’s true.

It’s going to be hard to get rid of HOLLIE when she does what she did tonight-- deliver the best performance of the night, and I am not kidding.  Miley’s “The Climb” was perfect for her, and there is no way she goes home now.  Amazing comeback. 

BOTTOM 3:  Gets very tricky now, but let’s go with JESSICA,  JOSHUA and for the 4th week in a  row, ELISE, and that’s who goes home. 

 

What's "presidential" any more?

I have a sense of humor.  I like Jimmy Fallon.  I think the Slow Jam segments are some of his funniest stuff.  There is also the possibility that President Obama's involvement in that feature could be a stroke of genius in terms of relatability, likability, that "I want a President just like me" factor.

Well, I said it when they used that line to support Bill Clinton, and I'll say it now.  I don't want a President like me.  I want a President better than me.  And I want a President who respectfully passes on opportunities to do late-night TV comedy bits.

    The consistency test is:  would I want my party's nominee to do it?  And that's a hell, no.  There has been talk of Romney doing something on Saturday Night Live.  Please, Mitt, don't do it.  I don't care if you are cool.  I just want you to fix the country.  I don't care if you share my sense of humor.  I just want you to bring an agenda wholly different from the nightmare we are in today.  And I want you to be serious about it.  Not humorless, not severe.  Just above the silliness that some politicians have engaged in to score hipness points.  I know a lot of hip people, and most of them I wouldn't let wash my car.  I know a lot of people with stunted senses of humor, and some of them are geniuses.  Please, Mitt, just be presidential.  Ignore the modern tug to roll around in the mire of today's comedy culture.

    And again, I say this as a fan of that culture.  Watch the Obama slow jam with Fallon-- by any measure, it is truly funny.  But we have to figure out what we want our leaders to do and what we preferred they not do.  And it just so happens the RNC has assembled a brilliant ad featuring how Obama and Romney spent their evenings.  It illustrates the point perfectly.

My Dallas Morning News column on how we got into the student loan mess

Unwillingness to stop government loans for college students threatens economy

 

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

 

Mark Davis

 

 

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In a rare moment of seeming bipartisanship,President Barack Obama and likely opponent Mitt Romney have found agreement this week on extending artificially low interest rates for millions of government college loans.

Obama wants this because it tightens his bond with voters already hooked up to government largess. Romney says students need the break on repaying the loans because the Obama job creation record is so shoddy.

While they duke that out on the campaign trail, I offer the premise that it was a horrible idea for the government to start offering college loans in the first place.

This conclusion is a natural for me, since I don’t think the government should be lending money to anyone for anything. This is why banks exist.

If banks strike you as a challenging and sometimes unyielding source for money, that’s called the free market. Banks will offer money to people who seem to have a reasonable likelihood of paying it back. Anyone falling short of that standard needs to practice the lost art of coping — with a smaller house, the same car or a college that costs less.

Remember saving for college? That, too, has gone the way of the dinosaurs as government has opened up its vast vault, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars onto people with little or no capacity for repaying.

Haven’t we all heard repeated stories of some poor soul getting a degree in something that promises to pay about 30 grand a year, staring down the cannon barrel of a college debt twice that large?

Fingers point to the high cost of college. No kidding. If any of those students take Economics 101, they will learn a basic fact: A flood of available money for the purchase of something will make that thing get expensive very quickly. This is what gives us $12 Tylenol at the hospital; this is what gives us skyrocketing college costs.

When we turned to government to benevolently shoulder our college burdens, we opened a massive spigot that caused college costs to spike. Our unwillingness to kick the habit of reckless government loans now threatens the entire economy.

There is more outstanding student debt than credit card debt, held by far fewer people and with far lower prospects for repayment.

The private lenders who do engage in the college loan market face the same pressure that mortgage lenders endured when someone decided homeownership was a right. It is not, and neither is college attendance. These are things to be saved for and responsibly managed if debt is incurred.

The concept of personal responsibility is further eroded by the insidiously titled “Fairness for Struggling Students Act,” pushed by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., which allows for bankruptcy obliteration of student debt.

Durbin and his colleague Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan can be counted on to oppose the Republican House budget plan’s reforms to address the lunacy of loans pouring forth from a government that has no money. Levin’s line will be parroted often: “We need to make college more affordable, not less.”

Something does not become “more affordable” with the mere infusion of unwisely lent money. College should cost what it costs, with prices set by students paying what they and their parents can afford after saving or applying for responsible loans from private banks.

Some kids will go to Harvard, some to a community college. Those decisions should be made in a marketplace uncompromised by a government looking to ensnare our youngest adults in an early web of dependency.

Mark Davis may be contacted at [email protected].

 

Read more from Mark Davis

 

Thanks, NYC. Back home in TX

 

    Safely back in Texas, let me dwell for a moment on some memories of the last few days-- images of a great trip to New York capped with a return to Texas for Ethan’s 9th birthday Sunday.

    You have to know how cool-- beyond cool-- it was to fly up there and guest host the Rush Limbaugh show for two days.  Part of that is self-evident, but you also need to know how additionally special it is because of the welcome I get from the people I am privileged to work with when I do this.  So let's establish that if I had come up here to do some radio and done nothing else, it would have been great.

    But as it so happens, my joy is compounded by the company of my wife and son on this trip.   Next time we have to complete the family circle by clearing out some work days for Regina.  From climbing rocks in Central Park to exploring the FAO Schwarz toy store to picking a Greenwich Village street to hunt for a restaurant, this trip was a tonic for the soul.

    And that's before we even get to the 9/11 memorial.

 

    I had visited it before, when I spent two days in New York between Iowa and New Hampshire election coverage in January.  It was cold and cloudy and incredibly moving.  This time was different.  It was warm, sunny and even more affecting because Lisa and Ethan were with me.

    There is something about bringing your family here.  There is something about bringing a child here, particularly one born just a year or so after the attacks.  Ethan will turn 9 this weekend, and he is just old enough to start understanding what happened here-- not the intricacies of terrorism, but the broad basics of his country under attack and what we have done since to respond to those attacks and hopefully prevent them in the future.

It is at once a somber and uplifting experience.  Water rushes into enormous square fountains at the spot of the North and South Tower footprints.    It is an honor to walk this hallowed ground, and it is inspiring to look to the south and see the new One World Trade Center tower rising from what were once the ashes of mass murder.

I can say all day long that every American should visit that spot, and make the cliché suggestion that 9/11 images should air somewhere every week, if not every night.  But a war-weary country cannot be dragged back to the righteous indignation we properly felt so briefly after the attacks.  Our enemies will fight with boundless energy for centuries.  We got tired after a couple of years.  My continuing prayer is that we do not need another 9/11 to remind us of what we are up against.

Okay, time for some uplift.  Our NY trip was magnificent, and if there’s anything I want to put in your head, it is the magnificence of Central Park.  There is nothing like it in the world.  Such a vast pastoral space plunked in the middle of one of the highest population density cities on Earth.  Just incredible.  We go all the time, and from the restaurants to the neighborhoods to the people-- yes, the people-- it is always a delight.

 

And it is always great to come home.  We landed Saturday night with a busy list of duties before Ethan’s birthday the following day.  We had done most of the cleaning and prepping and logistics work, so it was really just a matter of making sure the cake was ready (Angry Birds) and the balloons were ready (Party City) and Domino’s could have eight large pizzas ready to go for pickup at the appointed time.  

The weather was great, the kids went nuts in the pool for an hour, chowed like hungry wolves and then sat down for the talents of my buddy Christopher Lyle,   the magician we had seen several times at a nearby restaurant.  Five minutes at tableside are nothing compared to what this guy trots out for a full hour show, or 45 minutes, or whatever time you want him to fill.  And if you wisely secure his balloon skills as well, your day is complete.    “Balloon animals” is but a fraction of his craft-- the guy does balloon people, balloon monsters, balloon concept art (ask for the ball striking the bowling pins)--  it defies belief.  As it should with a magician, right?   Anyway, the weekend was just great, and now here we are in the midst of a week filled with some anticlimactic primaries, Trayvon martin case developments and stories I’d be all over if I had a radio show.

And on that subject, I ask your patience.  The status quo remains the same (as status quos tend to do, or they wouldn’t be status quos)--  anything is possible and all options are open.  I am restrained from fully examining some of those options until next month, so hang with me here and I’ll have details on my next exploits as soon as I can offer them.

Meanwhile, back soon with topical material and maybe a photo album of some stuff going on in my world.  God bless all of you, and thanks for hanging in there with me.

 

 

My Dallas Morning News column on the TX US Senate race

 Mark Davis: A frustrating — and rare — Senate candidate debate 

 

 

Mark Davis

  Read previous columns by Mark Davis

 

 

Debates are good. Voters learn a lot. Candidates learn even more.

If debates are good, a lot of debates are even better. And if one hour is good, two is even better. The presidential campaign may have overdone it for a stretch, but there is no doubting that in a long series of two-hour tilts, we learned plenty about the 2012 Republican field. We saw who was up for the challenge and who was not, who got better and who did not, who delivered a message well and who did not.

That’s why last week’s debate among the top four challengers for Kay Bailey Hutchison’s U.S. Senate seat was so frustrating. First, it was the second — or for some, the only — debate voters have seen. And, worse, it is probably the last.

Blink and you missed it. One hour does not even begin to allow participants to cover enough ground, and it gave both candidates and questioners an urgent burst of adrenaline that created a frenetic pace. Plenty of voters are plugging in to this race for the first time. They need more debates, and they need them long enough to contain important detail.

Since challengers would be likely to agree to a debate every other day, it is easy to presume there is pushback from the front-runner, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who just wants to get to the May 29 primary with as little interaction as possible with his three main rivals, all of whom long to take chunks out of him.

Ted Cruz, Tom Leppert and Craig James all want to win, but their short-term goal is to aggregately keep Dewhurst below 50 percent, forcing a runoff.

The first thing to realize is that this may not happen. Candidates with as much name recognition and money as Dewhurst are very hard to beat. Add in the fact that most Texas Republican voters have a fairly high opinion of the stewardship offered over the years by the Perry-Dewhurst team, and it is fair to wonder why Dewhurst would even have to worry about a runoff.

There are two reasons: the ascendancy of worthy alternatives and a play-it-safe strategy that may not be working as planned.

Friday night’s debate showed ample reason why Dewhurst may not crave the debate stage: It is not his friend. It reminded people how much he has sought to avoid exposure to his rivals, and how mixed the results can be when he encounters them.

Some people are just better at governing than debating. But candidates with a track record and a support base as enviable as Dewhurst’s should get out on the debate stage and show confidence in defending that record, even when under fire from several directions.

Cruz, for one, would then have to rely more on his criticism of Dewhurst as insufficiently conservative, which may or may not work well in a season where Texas government has been branded as a bunch of budget-slashing radicals.

So where is this race a month before early voting, and is Cruz the only challenger who can send this to a runoff?

Leppert’s is a hard candidacy to evaluate. His appearances and ads have been unfailingly impressive. He arguably had the best night on the debate stage. But is that enough to spring him into the 20-30 percent range necessary for second place, should Dewhurst fail to reach 50?

And it is hard to know whether James’ impressive political debut takes a bite out of Cruz’s tea party appeal or Leppert’s North Texas base.

More debates and more polls would give us some meat to gnaw on in evaluating these questions. Instead we are left to consume little more than the barrage of advertising that within a month will grow to annoy many and enlighten few.

Radio talk show host Mark Davis may be contacted at [email protected]

 

Israel, Glenn Beck and me...Recipe for a great event

 

 

A few weeks ago in Westlake, Texas, I had the pleasure of meeting Glenn Beck at a Santorum event.  He is a familiar and welcome fixture in D/FW now, and it was a pleasure to get to know him personally.  It's always nice when people you respect professionally are also endearing personally, and trust me, that does not always happen.  

    So imagine my additional delight when the organizers of a fundraiser for an Israeli hospital asked if I would serve as Master of Ceremonies for an event featuring Glenn as keynote speaker on May 1 at the Eisemann Center in Richardson.   You could say this was an easy yes.

    When I visited Israel a few years ago, one of the most lasting images I brought home was of the Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya, where we were scheduled to interview some doctors and officials.  Those interviews were delayed by a rocket attack from just a few miles away in this Northern town.  Minutes before our arrival, victims had been brought in from just a few miles away.  It is these memories that remind me of what it means to be in a vivid, everyday war on terror when the terrorists are not across an ocean but across a border a short drive away.

    What many Israeli hospitals need is an underground wartime emergency facility so that their services to patients are not interrupted even as further violence erupts.  This event will help the Assaf Harofeh Medical Center build just such a facility at its location along the highway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  As Americans, as Christians-- as people of any faith, we embody the best in ourselves when we support our brothers and sisters in Israel.  I am very proud to be part of this night, which promises to be inspiring and enjoyable.   

  Here's the link for tickets.  I hope to see you there.

See you Thursday and Friday

 

It’s interesting how things work out sometimes.  The recurring question I get involves when I will return to a regularly scheduled radio show, and the answer depends largely on where that occurs.  Please take me literally when I say no door is closed and anything is possible.

That answer may take a while to simmer, but in the meantime, I have some firm radio news to report:  On Thursday and Friday the 19th and 20th, I will walk into a studio and do a radio talk show-- the Rush Limbaugh show.

I have filled in for Rush for a little over three years, and he and his people have always been unfailingly kind and gracious to me.  The opportunity to fill in under the current circumstances is even more meaningful and appreciated.  Rush and the people around him are cut from the finest cloth, and their personal and professional support is more than uplifting.

If you have already gotten ahead of me, yes, this does create an interesting few hours of radio this week, as I will once again be heard on the station where I was the lead-in for Rush for 18 years, up until March 31.  While I am spreading some gratitude, let me include WBAP’s local management, which offered to welcome me back into the building for the hours of those two Limbaugh shows.

On every past Rush sub occasion, I would simply finish my own show, hit a few buttons and hear his folks-- Bo, H.R., whoever was handling things that day-- through my headphones.   The non-radio fill-in guys like Mark Steyn and Walter Williams fly into New York and host from the EIB Northern Command.

So since I am unobligated in the preceding hours each day, I’m going to fly up and do the show from there for the first time.  Seems like the best idea for all involved.  And rest assured, through the magic of twitpic and the like, I’m taking you with me.  Looks like partly cloudy, 70-ish both days, should be sweet.

And obviously it will be wonderful to do a show.  It’s what I do.  I love the Dallas Morning News column and my TV gigs and the blogging world, but radio is my life, and I am grateful to ply my craft for these two days on the way down whatever path God is clearing for me.

Needless to say, at no time will I use the enormous reach of the golden EIB microphone to make any reference to my evolving professional situation.  And do me a favor-- if you get into the show that day, don’t you do it either.  Just say “Hi, Mark.”  I will be thrilled to hear those words over a phone line on a radio show, if only for those two days... for now.

So thanks to Rush and the people in his world, and thanks to all of you for your continued interest, prayers and good wishes.

See you in a few days.

A week among friends: Update time

 

    As another week of my absence from the air comes to an end, I thought I'd answer some of the questions that are arising from tweets and texts and emails and the like.  When this little drama arose last week, I envisioned saying virtually nothing about it.  These can be sensitive matters, and sometimes it's best to just let things ride.

    This is not one of those times.

    I will continue to be quite silent on the details of the business matters that resulted in the removal of my show from WBAP, but so many people have so many questions and such kind concerns that I will occasionally address them so that listeners are not left in the dark.   In fact, I envision a Monday post that will answer some of the nuts and bolts questions as much as I can, keeping in mind that I am observing the decorum that properly arises in such a sensitive time.  But in the meantime, I wanted to end the week with a message meant to do only two things:  inform everyone that my family and I are doing just fine, and to express once again the depth of my gratitude for so many gracious and prayerful sentiments sent in our direction.

    I spoke Tuesday to the Tarrant Star Republican women in North Richland Hills.  What a joy it was to share with them some pent-up thoughts I would have been addressing on the show.  Their kindness and good wishes put a smile on me that lasted all day.

The following day featured an event I had placed on the calendar a good while back.  My friends at the Institute for Policy Innovation, for whom I have MC’d many events, hatched the idea of a lunch where I would actually be the featured speaker, tackling some issues in detail, taking questions, the whole enchilada.   Then, boom, the show I would have used to promote the event gets yanked.  I called IPI President Tom Giovanetti to express my regrets at losing the main promotional vehicle for the lunch.  But then it occurred to us:  why not turn this into a plus for the event?  Something along the lines of “if you want to hear Mark Davis, here’s the only place you can.”

It worked.  The lunch was a success, and for me, a total joy.  IPI’s Resident Scholar, my good friend Buddy Matthews, introduced me and hosted question time, and as Lisa and I left we just looked at each other and thanked God for the blessings of such good friends and such good fortune.

And by that I mean loyal listeners who showed up, the folks at IPI who have been such good friends, and an overall vibe that made me cherish even more the blessing of 18 years of being a part of this community.

The rest of the week has featured continued contact from friends and listeners who are sharing their prayers for us and their frustration with the situation.  Some of those frustrations have taken the shape of some activism directed at the company that now owns WBAP.

A couple of things about those gestures.  I have neither prodded nor restrained them.  People may do whatever they wish, call whomever they wish, react however they wish.  I have merely watched it unfold, humbled  by the kindness of so many.  I have no concept as to its effect, because there is no communication between the company and me of any kind right now at any official level.   Do not conclude anything from this, because I don’t.  I’m not a mind reader.  They may call me at some point, they may not.  If they do, I will be pleased to speak to anyone.  If not, I have a number of options that I am examining as I write this.

I know how vague that is, and that’s how it has to be at the moment, as I’m sure all will understand.  At some point there will be news to report of some type, indicating some direction in which I will travel.  I will be here the moment there is something concrete.

Meanwhile, with your permission, I will blurt out various things that occur to me, as I have always done, except for the moment it is outside the usual structure of a radio show.

Is it weird?  Of course it is.  Both of the last two Fridays, I have heard James Brown singing “I Feel Good” in my head at 8:33 am.  But overall, do you know what this has been?  An absolute delight.  I take Ethan to school every morning, Lisa and I are loading up the back yard with new plants, I’m watching issues and posting things whenever I darn well please, and I am bathed in the good wishes of more good people than I can count.

And it is far more goodwill than I deserve.  I know it is easy in times of oddity to fall back on the familiar concepts of God being in control, and whatever happens, it is His will.  But I actually happen to believe those things, and they have kicked in strongly.  Lisa’s parents are in town for the weekend, we will walk in the Komen event tomorrow in appreciation for my sister-in-law Carmen Hawker, a proud survivor.  I will be on WFAA Channel 8 Sunday Morning at 9 for Inside Texas Politics, discussing the Friday night debate between candidates in the Republican primary to succeed Kay Bailey Hutchison.

The running joke is, I need to get a talk show soon-- I need the rest.  Life is busy, life is good, we are happy and confident, and blessed to hear from so many good people.  I am getting an opportunity here to pause, hit a reset button and examine life in a number of meaningful ways.  I am grateful to a loving God and to so many of you for your prayers and kindnesses.

I’ll tweet during the Friday night debate and, as I have shown, whenever the urge strikes.   Meanwhile, have a fantastic weekend.  Hug your kids.  Call your parents.  Give the dog an extra treat.  We are all so blessed, and we are called also to be a blessing to others.  So let’s do it.

Back with far drier topical material soon.  Go Rangers and Go Mavs!  

 

Idol Top 7: Strong start, so-so finish

 

PREVIOUSLY:  DEANDRE had been a tough nut to crack at the show’s beginning.  Was he a talent to be reckoned with or a one-trick pony not long for this world?  Turned out to be B.

SKYLAR will try to fend off the Curse of First with Kellie Pickler’s “Didn’t You Know How Much I Loved You.”  I predict success.  This little girl is just pure dynamite, and so likable as well.  I officially do not know how far she can go.  There is no limit.  We’re seeing something very special here.

 

I can’t say enough about my admiration for COLTON, whose devoutness and gratitude seem genuine before he even opens his mouth to sing.  Add a great take on “Love the Way You Lie,” The Skylar Grey song made famous by Rihanna with Eminem.  It was wonderful, and this kid is so versatile.  Another case of no limits.

 

What?  More duets?  Oh, well, gotta fill two hours somehow with a dwindling list of finalists.  PHILLIP and ELISE roll out with some Belgian guy named Gotye and “Somebody that I used to know.”  Whatever.  Sure, it was good, but the duets are beating me down.

 

The challenge JESSICA faces with me is boredom.  Yes, the girl has a great voice, but Idol is about the whole presentation- poise, stagecraft and the art of being interesting.  The challenge goes deeper with an unknown artist and an unknown song.   Jazmine Sullivan’s “Stuttering.”  But guess what?  Out of the park.  It’s like she is growing up before our eyes.  The song is great, her performance was great, and mature beyond her years.  Simply superb.

 

Oh, well, time for the effeminate foppery of JOSHUA, who is just wearing me out as the weeks pass.  You could say my expectations are low as he takes on Bruno Mars’ “Runaway Baby.”  But dang, there is something about this week.  Add some brass and an up-tempo song, and it brings out the best in him.  Thoroughly enjoyed it.  Go figure.  But then we get one of those moments that just make me crazy, as Joshua’s Dad comes onstage to share some love.  Stop this!  This whole thing is about getting votes, and anything that creates surplus likability that others do not get to benefit from is just unfair.  So no parents, no kids, no siblings. Stop it.

Duet break.  COLTON and SKYLAR knock out “Don’t You Wanna Stay,” and it is just plain great.  More evidence of Skylar’s power and Colton’s versatility.

HOLLIE tries to avoid a return trip to the Bottom 3 by trotting out Pink’s “Perfect.”  It wasn’t.  It wasn’t bad, but against this week’s backdrop of great performances, it paled.  Hollie is a lovely child with a sweet and powerful voice, but she might be headed back to Texas.

PHILLIP and Maroon 5 is a nice fit, and “Give A Little More” fit like a glove.  But it may be time for him to move beyond bouncy acoustic numbers and spread his wings a little.

Duet break #3 is actually a trio, and for all the talent onstage, it was pretty terrible.  JOSHUA, JESSICA and HOLLIE struggle through Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger.”   Sadly, Hollie gets the worst of it.  Yikes.

ELISE caps the night with what should have been a triumph for her, Lady Gaga’s “You and I.”  It was good, not great.  Risky, since America has been sour on her before.

BOTTOM 3 is hard beyond HOLLIE.  Let’s go with ELISE and SKYLAR just from the Curse of First.

And who goes home?  HOLLIE.

 

My church gives me inspiration, direction...and hot topics.

 Mark Davis: A lion’s share of controversy

  

Mark Davis

 

 

I have been attending Fellowship Church in Grapevine for a couple of years. It was my pastor, Ed Young, on the roof of that church in a bed with his wife, Lisa, a few weeks ago as part of a series called the “Sexperiment.”

It also means that on Easter Sunday, I watched him onstage with a lamb … and a lion.

If you prefer your church low-key and your pastor quiet and safe, Ed is not your man. He will put a bed on the roof and tell you it is about time people heard what Christ has to say about intimacy. He will integrate every element of contemporary music, high-tech presentation and modern vernacular to bring a very traditional message to thousands each week. It minces no words, it allows no fudging and leaves nothing uncertain.

And sometimes it involves animals. Big animals.

The new series is called “Wild,” and it kicked off Easter weekend as Ed began addressing the paradoxes of Easter: Why the name “Good Friday” for the death of Jesus? How can man ever absorb the notion of a salvation we do not deserve? And how should we reconcile the responsibility to emulate Jesus in his lamblike gentleness and his lionlike strength?

What better way to illustrate that last point than those two animals, in the flesh?

As with the “Sexperiment,” opinions began flowing immediately from those who thought it was a great idea and those who did not.

Everyone is entitled to personal taste in terms of the worship they enjoy. Fellowship’s flavor is pure, unmitigated Bible 101 packaged in a 21st-century way that attracts tattooed twenty-somethings alongside grandparents. While some find these trappings a bit intense, others may be challenged by the thoroughly traditional messages within: God said it, you need to believe it, and that settles it.

The ripple of controversy since Sunday is not the product of theological discord but rather animal rights sensitivities. Some have said the cage was not in the best interests of the lion.

Well, I checked, and the lion is back on his spacious preserve in California, enjoying a happy lion life. Meanwhile, Fellowship attendees got a lesson in incorporating the Christlike qualities of the lion and the lamb in a far more vivid fashion than they would have if the sermon had been delivered without the animals. Personally, I believe the lion’s time was very well-spent.

Couldn’t Ed — couldn’t any pastor — deliver that sermon without the actual animals on stage? Of course. But I wouldn’t be writing about it, you wouldn’t be talking about it, and my third-grade son would not be invoking it every day since, with a perfect sense of what the sermon meant.

There is great beauty in the centuries-old sights and sounds of ancient masses and traditional worship unchanged through the ages. But if a church wants to step it up in a way that fills seats with people who might not otherwise see the inside of a house of worship, I would suggest that is exactly what Christianity is about.

As this series continues, the activists may grumble, but I am comfortable that every animal brought in for this high purpose will be well-treated, and every member of the congregation well-served.

I do not know what animals are in store in the coming weeks. There is buzz about a camel, and I would think a serpent would be in there somewhere. If the snake talks, that will be a whole other column.