10 girls, 8 spots: i sing opera...
The 1970s was a good decade. Too bad Wednesday night's girls got totally cold-cocked by them.
I've seen some bad semi-finals rounds. And last night ranks right up there, once again making me loathe this unfortunate need for gender equity on this show.
Let's hope it was just the flu. Or Mercury in retrograde. Or global warming.
Because THIS is American Idol.
And these are my impressions, after subjecting myself to two viewings of each performance, and, as always, from worst to first.
Kady Malloy (Magic Man). Honestly, I didn't think anyone could or would deliver a more out-of-tune, poorly-chosen and poorly-delivered performance than the rocker nurse. Boy. When I am wrong, I admit it. If Kady continues past tonight, it's on the basis of pity. And I'm going to stop there while I'm still being kind.
Amanda Overmyer (Carry On my Wayward Son). Holy Mother of God, what has this girl done with her hair? And what has she done with her skill? Maybe she was distracted about being this year's first scandal victim, but I can count on one hand how many notes she delivered that were actually in tune. I've seen bad, and this ranks right up there. In fact, if I knew how to spell the sound of agony, I'd be able to describe the sound that came out of my pup during this performance. If Amanda stays past tonight, it will be on the strength of the VFTW vote.
Alaina Whitaker (Hopelessly Devoted to You). I was hoping we'd get through the night without having to hear this oversung song. Nothing was right with this performance, from the hair to the wardrobe to the song choice to the song delivery. But following Amanda, it wasn't all that noticeable. Now will somebody please remove all songs from Grease from the available songlist? Thank you.
Kristi Lee Cook (You're No Good). Kristi Lee is a tomboy, she assures us in her pre-performance clip. Maybe she was too busy fishing to dig deeper in the 50-title deep catalog. I didn't like this song when it was first recorded; I detest it now. Even the growling didn't rescue this effort, even though, as the judges pointed out, it was light years better than her effort last week. Simon reminds her that she's this year's token country music rep. She promises to represent next week. If she's still there, that is.
Syesha Mercado (Me and Mr. - formerly Mrs. - Jones). This was just dumb. The key to the song - the thing that makes the song make sense - is the Mrs. And Syesha tries to turn it around. She loses points just for that. And then she didn't sing it all that sexily, but again, on a night like this, she's better than most.
Asia'h Epperson (All By Myself). After totally swallowing the second note, Asia'h tries her best to rebound, taking what should have been the Eric Carmen version instead of attempting the diva version. Simon informs her she's not a good enough singer to take on Celine. I'm not sure she's a good enough singer to take on Eric Carmen.
Ramiele Malubay (Don't Leave Me This Way). Geesh. And I really thought we'd get through the 70s without having to hear disco. Everything that Ramiele kicked butt with last week she seemed to leave in last week. But I still love her and firmly believe she's in no danger of leaving anytime soon.
Alexandrea Lushington (If you Leave Me Now). Something about Alex-and-Rea's outfit (which was FAB) and this song just didn't match. But whatever. Up till now, I've liked the richness and strength of her voice, but this performance came across as too thin. Randy whips out the "safe" attack. He's exactly right.
Carly Smithson (Crazy On You). Carly starts the show whipping out this Heart song because she says she loves them and this song is one of her all-time faves.. And the anointed one, who served up massive disappointment last week, redeems the judges (and producers') faith in her. It wasn't an Idol-winning worthy performance, but on a night like this, it was good enough. Simon says she's the girl to beat, but he prods her to find better songs. Note to Simon: they sing what you let them sing.
Brooke White (You're So Vain). She's just so cute! Brooke needs to find any and every reason, excuse and loophole to keep getting those Carly Simon/Carole King songs. She is perfect in that mold, and, with guitar in hand, turns in the best performance of the night, virtually assuring herself a ticket to the big stage.
So who's staying and who's leaving. I think VFTW will save Amanda, so my money is on Kady, who should be kicked off twice just on principle and - geesh just flip a coin - either Alaina or Asia'h.
So, who's on your short list?
I've seen some bad semi-finals rounds. And last night ranks right up there, once again making me loathe this unfortunate need for gender equity on this show.
Let's hope it was just the flu. Or Mercury in retrograde. Or global warming.
Because THIS is American Idol.
And these are my impressions, after subjecting myself to two viewings of each performance, and, as always, from worst to first.
Kady Malloy (Magic Man). Honestly, I didn't think anyone could or would deliver a more out-of-tune, poorly-chosen and poorly-delivered performance than the rocker nurse. Boy. When I am wrong, I admit it. If Kady continues past tonight, it's on the basis of pity. And I'm going to stop there while I'm still being kind.
Amanda Overmyer (Carry On my Wayward Son). Holy Mother of God, what has this girl done with her hair? And what has she done with her skill? Maybe she was distracted about being this year's first scandal victim, but I can count on one hand how many notes she delivered that were actually in tune. I've seen bad, and this ranks right up there. In fact, if I knew how to spell the sound of agony, I'd be able to describe the sound that came out of my pup during this performance. If Amanda stays past tonight, it will be on the strength of the VFTW vote.
Alaina Whitaker (Hopelessly Devoted to You). I was hoping we'd get through the night without having to hear this oversung song. Nothing was right with this performance, from the hair to the wardrobe to the song choice to the song delivery. But following Amanda, it wasn't all that noticeable. Now will somebody please remove all songs from Grease from the available songlist? Thank you.
Kristi Lee Cook (You're No Good). Kristi Lee is a tomboy, she assures us in her pre-performance clip. Maybe she was too busy fishing to dig deeper in the 50-title deep catalog. I didn't like this song when it was first recorded; I detest it now. Even the growling didn't rescue this effort, even though, as the judges pointed out, it was light years better than her effort last week. Simon reminds her that she's this year's token country music rep. She promises to represent next week. If she's still there, that is.
Syesha Mercado (Me and Mr. - formerly Mrs. - Jones). This was just dumb. The key to the song - the thing that makes the song make sense - is the Mrs. And Syesha tries to turn it around. She loses points just for that. And then she didn't sing it all that sexily, but again, on a night like this, she's better than most.
Asia'h Epperson (All By Myself). After totally swallowing the second note, Asia'h tries her best to rebound, taking what should have been the Eric Carmen version instead of attempting the diva version. Simon informs her she's not a good enough singer to take on Celine. I'm not sure she's a good enough singer to take on Eric Carmen.
Ramiele Malubay (Don't Leave Me This Way). Geesh. And I really thought we'd get through the 70s without having to hear disco. Everything that Ramiele kicked butt with last week she seemed to leave in last week. But I still love her and firmly believe she's in no danger of leaving anytime soon.
Alexandrea Lushington (If you Leave Me Now). Something about Alex-and-Rea's outfit (which was FAB) and this song just didn't match. But whatever. Up till now, I've liked the richness and strength of her voice, but this performance came across as too thin. Randy whips out the "safe" attack. He's exactly right.
Carly Smithson (Crazy On You). Carly starts the show whipping out this Heart song because she says she loves them and this song is one of her all-time faves.. And the anointed one, who served up massive disappointment last week, redeems the judges (and producers') faith in her. It wasn't an Idol-winning worthy performance, but on a night like this, it was good enough. Simon says she's the girl to beat, but he prods her to find better songs. Note to Simon: they sing what you let them sing.
Brooke White (You're So Vain). She's just so cute! Brooke needs to find any and every reason, excuse and loophole to keep getting those Carly Simon/Carole King songs. She is perfect in that mold, and, with guitar in hand, turns in the best performance of the night, virtually assuring herself a ticket to the big stage.
So who's staying and who's leaving. I think VFTW will save Amanda, so my money is on Kady, who should be kicked off twice just on principle and - geesh just flip a coin - either Alaina or Asia'h.
So, who's on your short list?
Labels: alaina whitakre, alexandrea lushington, amanda overmyer, asia'h epperson, brooke white, carly smithson, kady malloy, kristy lee cook, ramiele malubay, syesha mercado
posted by jennifer at 4:07:00 PM
7 Comments:
Hey! I'm first comment again! woohooo!!!
The women were so lackluster that I won't even bother to comment on individual performances. (Except the worst and best, of course).
Worst: Amanda. I love Kansas, and I love "Carry On Wayward Son." As of last week, I loved Amanda, too. But holy heck! What was THAT?! Completely out of tune, she mumbled most of the song. I KNOW this song word for word and still couldn't figure out what she was singing! It was ghastly. And don't get me started on her hair. But I did like her pants, even though they were a bit Evil Knievel.
Best: Carly. I know everyone is over her already. But in a night of terrible performances, she was the only one who chose a song that highlighted her abilities. And she did a pretty decent job with it. She got a little screechy toward the end, but at least she went for it! Heart's not easy to do.
Who I want to go: Amanda and Kady
Who should go: Amanda and Asia'h
Who will go: Alexandrea and Kristy Lee
Side note: Kristy Lee looked amazing last night and sounded like Faith Hill. She definitely has the country vibe going on.
Well Jennifer, I must agree with you on most every point, although I am not in awe of Brooke. But, you are right again by saying that if she can find a Carly Simon, Carole King,or maybe a Trisha Yearwood song on country night (She's In Love With the Boy, or Everybody Knows) she could go very deep in this competition. I don't think she has great vocal range, but if she will stay in her zone, she will be tough to beat for some time to come.
Always glad to find another Idol addict who doesn't take the show too seriously. :)
My prediction is that Alexandrea and Ramiele will go. Why? I don't know. I had to pick two, and since there were only TWO performances worthy of my time last night, it was kind of hard to wade through the rest of the garbage. I think Amanda has people who will vote for her because, as they say, "she's different." Whatever. But now she also has the support of Vote for the Worst, so she's staying. And I don't think they would ever vote off two cute young blondes on the same night. The universe might cave in on itself.
I'm really confused about the judges definition of 'safe'. Randy calls Alexandrea's choice of "If You Leave Me Now" safe but they all fawn over Brooke's choice of "You're So Vain"?
So okay, Alex just didn't look right, outfit and all, singing that song and she started out very rocky. But towards the end I thought that she started to put a slight R&B vibe to it and was starting to work. I'm a musician and I don't think I've ever heard a cover of "If You Leave Me Now" done by anybody, male or female. And as simple as the the song may sound, it's not a very easy song to sing. If anything, I would say she took a big risk that somewhat failed. No way was it 'safe'. C'mon.
Now Brooke, I knew she would sing a Carly or Carole type song, which is fine -- that's her thing. But did she really do anything with it except sing it karaoke style? It wasn't that great a vocal and her guitar technique was strictly amateur and rather a bit distracting for my taste.
I guess it's all a matter of opinion and preference but I really can't pinpoint anything in her performance for you to place her in the top spot over Carly who I have a hard time watching and listening to.
And to be fair, I really liked Brooke throughout the Hollywood competition but I've had a change of heart since her last two performances. Her vocals have been just okay. Oh well, my .02 cents.
BTW, great to see you back and I love, love, love, your site. I was gonna skip Idol this year but caught Ramiele's performance last week and it peaked my interest again (she's a cutie!). She picked the wrong song this week but she still sang it well. Simon is right --she's probably in the top three best female vocalists.
This was a bad week anyway you look at it. I did, however, like the girls better than the guys. I think it was because they started with a very good performance and they had the WORST idol performance EVER. The hair was worse then the Faux Hawk of 2007! I love to be entertained more than anything! LOL
This just in!!! (Well not really, I was waiting for Jennifer to post this blog all day) AI got the okay to allow Beatles music on the show. I think I am the most ecstatic Idol fan in the world right now. I guess it was bound to happen eventually after 7 seasons, but until now we've only heard Imagine (which was a Lennon song, not Beatles) and Something (which was written by George Harrison) so if they do an actual Beatles theme night, I will be the happiest person in the world. Here's the link:
Idol Gets Beatlemania
Can someone please explain to me the hype over Brooke White? I thought she had a very, very weak performance...then again everyone did.
I am so disappointed...I expected so much better from them...especially Ramiele and Syesha.
Oh, and what is this with Amanda Overmeyer? I just don't understand her. At all. I really don't like her voice. I guess "Light my Fire" was okay, but besides that I just don't get it.
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