American Idol: Top 8 Girls
I'm tired of this opener, and would like to see a new one that doesn't look like Second Life. Just saying. Oh DEAR! Ellen is sitting on Simon's lap and being TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE. I am creeped out. That was AWKWARD. Please can we just get to the singing?
Singing "Breakaway", Katie Stevens starts out flat and ... stays that way the whole song. She has boring hair, mom jewelry, and a mondo rhinestone belt buckle. She still sounds old, but now she's old trying to copycat Kelly Clarkson. Can't be done, honey. Ouch. Flat on the last note is never a good sign. Nice pregnant pause, Simon! He said, "you kinda sucked ... the energy out of it a little bit." Honestly, it was bad.
Siobhan Magnus is going to sing "House of the Rising Sun" (The Animals). So far, I haven't liked a single thing I've seen her wear (this is a straight skirt with a peplum over it -- I wore that in the early 90s!), and it NEVER goes with what she sings. But whoa, this is a BRAVE beginning. She's singing a capella, and is totally ON PITCH when the band comes in. Love this interpretation. SO creative. A couple tiny pitch problems, but that was good. Really, really good. This girl has "it". This is me, jumping on board the Siobhan train.
Singing "The Story", Lacey Brown starts with a really nice tone. She's kind of Adelle, Amy Winehouse, and Natalie Merchant (although not the power of Merchant). It's not bad -- she starts out sitting on the edge of the stage, but never gets up, which becomes awkward. It's nice and nowhere near as many flat notes as previous performances. Just a little slow, but I liked it. She's finally found her stride, IMO, but I wonder if it's too late (based on comments I saw in the last week on Twitter and Facebook). The judges are right -- this is her best performance so far. Yikes -- just saw her standing up -- why is she wearing orange with that burgundy hair?
Not sure if Katelyn Epperly can sing Carole King or not, but she's got the hair. I'm sorry, but her makeup always looks tired to me, and WHAT THE HECK is she wearing? It was ok, but it felt like it was all chorus. My friend Scotty figured out what was up -- we felt more like talking over it than listening to it. Randy puts it more succinctly, "there was nothing special about it." Kara gives an even better critique. She's right on the money, noting that it didn't seem like Katelyn was actually competing.
Didi Benami is singing a Fleetwood Mac song, accompanying herself on guitar. This is a VERY interesting interpretation. I think I like it, but the judges could go either way. Too slow, and the chorus didn't take off like I thought it should have. When the chorus kicks in, it should have really rocked ... and been recognizable. Instead, the chorus is a fadeout. I really like her -- she's one of my favorites, but this was not the right song choice or delivery.
Paige Miles is up next, singing "Smile". Girlfriend is nervous, and at the beginning, she looks like she's singing to a firing range. Seriously, it's like she's been asked to sing at a friend's funeral, and is a breath from breaking into tears the entire song. A little more on pitch than last week, but this is not her night. Poor Randy just said it's one of his favorite songs, and all I can think of is that she butchered it. She keeps saying it's emotional, and that even during rehearsals, emotions got the best of her. I'm sorry, Paige, then CHOOSE ANOTHER SONG. And also? Don't use Michael Jackson as the reason you're emotional. As Scotty said, "say your cat died or something."
Crystal Bowersox is going to sing Tracy Chapman's "Gimme One Reason", and I love the opening. Like this bluesy sound and it's great when it gets into the groove. Sounds great, not a single flat note -- basically a fabulous performance. But no personality in her performance. Great song choice, great sound, etc., etc. But she needs a personality. Also, have we ever seen her not behind a guitar? It's superficial, but I'd like to put some mascara on her.
Lilly Scott is going to close the show with a Patsy Cline song. Whoa, this is a seriously country-sounding opening. Thought she might mod it up a little. HD is not kind to Lilly -- she could use Proactiv. So this is a great sound for her -- not my cup of tea at all, but again I can tell if it's not my sound or style and it's still good, then you know it's good. She didn't go flat at all. Not WOW, but really really well done. Great way to end the show.
Predictie McLeaverson thinks we're saying goodbye to:
Paige, Katie, Katelyn or Didi
Predictie wants us to say goodbye to:
Paige and Katie
Singing "Breakaway", Katie Stevens starts out flat and ... stays that way the whole song. She has boring hair, mom jewelry, and a mondo rhinestone belt buckle. She still sounds old, but now she's old trying to copycat Kelly Clarkson. Can't be done, honey. Ouch. Flat on the last note is never a good sign. Nice pregnant pause, Simon! He said, "you kinda sucked ... the energy out of it a little bit." Honestly, it was bad.
Siobhan Magnus is going to sing "House of the Rising Sun" (The Animals). So far, I haven't liked a single thing I've seen her wear (this is a straight skirt with a peplum over it -- I wore that in the early 90s!), and it NEVER goes with what she sings. But whoa, this is a BRAVE beginning. She's singing a capella, and is totally ON PITCH when the band comes in. Love this interpretation. SO creative. A couple tiny pitch problems, but that was good. Really, really good. This girl has "it". This is me, jumping on board the Siobhan train.
Singing "The Story", Lacey Brown starts with a really nice tone. She's kind of Adelle, Amy Winehouse, and Natalie Merchant (although not the power of Merchant). It's not bad -- she starts out sitting on the edge of the stage, but never gets up, which becomes awkward. It's nice and nowhere near as many flat notes as previous performances. Just a little slow, but I liked it. She's finally found her stride, IMO, but I wonder if it's too late (based on comments I saw in the last week on Twitter and Facebook). The judges are right -- this is her best performance so far. Yikes -- just saw her standing up -- why is she wearing orange with that burgundy hair?
Not sure if Katelyn Epperly can sing Carole King or not, but she's got the hair. I'm sorry, but her makeup always looks tired to me, and WHAT THE HECK is she wearing? It was ok, but it felt like it was all chorus. My friend Scotty figured out what was up -- we felt more like talking over it than listening to it. Randy puts it more succinctly, "there was nothing special about it." Kara gives an even better critique. She's right on the money, noting that it didn't seem like Katelyn was actually competing.
Didi Benami is singing a Fleetwood Mac song, accompanying herself on guitar. This is a VERY interesting interpretation. I think I like it, but the judges could go either way. Too slow, and the chorus didn't take off like I thought it should have. When the chorus kicks in, it should have really rocked ... and been recognizable. Instead, the chorus is a fadeout. I really like her -- she's one of my favorites, but this was not the right song choice or delivery.
Paige Miles is up next, singing "Smile". Girlfriend is nervous, and at the beginning, she looks like she's singing to a firing range. Seriously, it's like she's been asked to sing at a friend's funeral, and is a breath from breaking into tears the entire song. A little more on pitch than last week, but this is not her night. Poor Randy just said it's one of his favorite songs, and all I can think of is that she butchered it. She keeps saying it's emotional, and that even during rehearsals, emotions got the best of her. I'm sorry, Paige, then CHOOSE ANOTHER SONG. And also? Don't use Michael Jackson as the reason you're emotional. As Scotty said, "say your cat died or something."
Crystal Bowersox is going to sing Tracy Chapman's "Gimme One Reason", and I love the opening. Like this bluesy sound and it's great when it gets into the groove. Sounds great, not a single flat note -- basically a fabulous performance. But no personality in her performance. Great song choice, great sound, etc., etc. But she needs a personality. Also, have we ever seen her not behind a guitar? It's superficial, but I'd like to put some mascara on her.
Lilly Scott is going to close the show with a Patsy Cline song. Whoa, this is a seriously country-sounding opening. Thought she might mod it up a little. HD is not kind to Lilly -- she could use Proactiv. So this is a great sound for her -- not my cup of tea at all, but again I can tell if it's not my sound or style and it's still good, then you know it's good. She didn't go flat at all. Not WOW, but really really well done. Great way to end the show.
Predictie McLeaverson thinks we're saying goodbye to:
Paige, Katie, Katelyn or Didi
Predictie wants us to say goodbye to:
Paige and Katie