After last week’s dramatic “Reshults” show, as Ryan slurred it, we’ve got an extra dramatic week: two are going home, and no judges can save them. (Plus, with Idol Gives Back slated for next week, it’s very likely that the same scenario will play out next week.)

 

The musical theme for the return of the Top 9 was Elvis Presley’s deep catalog of hits, and who better to serve as a guest mentor for the night than … Adam Lambert? Well, both are performers ... and I suppose they have similar physical features. It was kind of an odd rationale/justification for why Adam should be the first former Idol contestant to return as a mentor, especially so soon after his Idol run. An interview with executive producer Ken Warwick even suggests that they felt sorry for the flamboyant singer’s so-so career thus far (though Ryan did Adam no favors with his awkward “tongue” comment).

There are band names and artist names, but I’m never quite sure what to make of one-man-acts that take on a name/persona. Maybe Owl City is more memorable than Adam Young, and Five for Fighting is easier to say than Michael Ondrasik, but Trent Reznor is a pretty cool sounding name. Is it all a creative marketing ploy or an extension of the artistry?

 

Whatever. By now, the music of Stephen Bryce Avary, aka The Rocket Summer, should be familiar—he with the youthful voice somewhere between Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson, rocking out to his punk and emo influences. The fact that he self writes, performs, and produces his music is remarkable considering that he sounds like a full band on his albums. (Performing with a live band in concert.)

 

What’s most impressive at this point in The Rocket Summer’s career is Avary’s continued development as an artist. 2005’s Hello, Good Friend was a pleasant surprise from one so young, but a bit of a cutesy lark—would the kid really last? Then with 2007’s Do You Feel, he demonstrated experience and sophistication. Now comes album No. 4, Of Men and Angels, about a year later than might be expected, but it’s stuffed with a whopping 15 songs and reveals maturity in voice, production, and most of all, songwriting.

Modern rock, alternative, hardcore, power pop, metal, punk … these are the genres that have best characterized Tooth & Nail Records (and its affiliate labels) over the last 20 years. But teen pop, not so much—until recently.

 

Meet Poema, a pop duo comprised of teenaged sisters Shealeen and Elle Puckett (19- and 17-years-old, respectively). Hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico, they come from a musical family and were leading worship at a young age—Shealeen is a classically trained pianist, while Elle self-taught herself acoustic guitar. After positive feedback from local performances, the Puckett sisters decided to pursue their musical dreams, taking the Greek word for “beautiful poem,” or as they describe it, “God’s masterpiece.”

 

Wish I could call Poema’s music a masterpiece. They more accurately describe it as “happy acoustic pop,” driven by the girls’ guitar and piano, textured with occasional strings and accordion. Think Taylor Swift without the country instrumentation, BarlowGirl as a duo instead of a trio, and a younger, more inexperienced Kelly Clarkson.