American Idol -- Top 10
There are rumours that during Idol Gives Back, the show will be bringing back 5 eliminated contestants and letting viewers vote for one of them to go on the Idol Tour.
!!!
David Hernandez? Danny Noriega? Oh, who should I hope for? David was my boy and definitely showed off a great voice, but he's come off as pretty desperate and sort of annoying in his post-elimination interviews. Danny never really showed off his voice on the show, but he KILLED on Ellen and he's got a fabulous personality. Oooh, I hope this rumour is true. Not that it really matters to me, because I can't vote since I'm in Canada and I wouldn't actually be going to a concert. But still. :D
Anyway, tonight the contestants are doing "Songs From The Year You Were Born". So this means that the show has now been on for, what, 5 or 6 weeks, and we STILL won't have heard any songs more current than the 1980's. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE, IDOL.
Ramiele Malubay sings "Alone"
I really wanted to like this. I thought maybe this could be the "little body/big voice" song that would sort of tell me what people see in her. But honestly, the beginning just bored me (even though it sounded fine to my untrained ears)... and then at the end, she just SCREAMED those last few lines. The background singers did her no favours, either. It wasn't horrible, but it was forgettable. And also, her cutesy baby talk is beyond annoying to me.
Jason Castro sings "Fragile"
He kind of whisper-sings through most of it, but there's one part where he really sings out and that was the only part I really liked. He did the same thing last week: he really sings out one or two lines and his voice sounds awesome, but for the rest of the song it's TOO laid-back. It's not that he can't sing, it's that he chooses not to. Which is weird. He's just so mellow. I still really like him, and [shallow]omg he's so pretty.[/shallow]
Syesha Mercado sings "If I Was Your Woman"
Vocally, I thought this was really good. She resisted the urge to scream at me, and I liked the phrasing. I think she goes overboard on the 'theatrics' during the song (maybe that's the actress in her coming out) but vocally I was able to hear what either people see in her.
Chikezie sings "If Only For One Night"
This is not my kind of song, but his voice sounds really good! I think he's got great range and he always does a really good job of interpreting the song without getting all melodramatic about it. I think he's very underrated, actually, and I hope this is enough to get him through to next week. Kind of interesting to hear Simon's comments, sort of encouraging him to shake it up and be wild like he has the last two weeks. I think if Chikezie did that all the time, Simon would turn on him a la Taylor. Just sort of interesting.
Brooke White sings "Every Breath You Take"
I enjoyed the acoustic beginning, and I like that vulnerable scratchy kind of sound to her voice when it's just her and an instrument. The song lost something when the band joined in... it became ordinary. Brooke always looks so needy while she's waiting for her comments.
Michael Johns sings "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions"
I was dubious when this started, because if you're going to attempt Freddie you'd better KILL it. And Michael Johns... did not disappoint. Whoo! This was GREAT. I've been thinking about why I don't like Michael more, and I came to the conclusion that I really DO like his voice and I think he's very personable, but he always seems tense and as though he's playing a part on stage. Finally, this week, he just looked totally relaxed and he just let himself sing without any preconceived notions of what he should look like or how he should move, and it worked. This was definitely his best performance yet, and if he can keep this relaxed vibe I think he'll be around for awhile, because I honestly think if we are going JUST by vocals (which of course we're not) he has the best voice in the competition.
Carly Smithson sings "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
The thing that pops out to me first of all is that in her interview segment she says she always wanted to be a "pop star". Not a SINGER. Which basically sums up Carly right there. The performance is typical Carly: she squints, frowns, crouches, and looks constipated (though we know that she went to the bathroom before her song, because for some reason she feels the need to share that information with us) and all of that distracts from the vocals, which are not that great anyway. Every week I say it sounds like she's straining for the notes, but this week it sounded worse than usual. It seriously sounded like she was going to lose her voice. Also, I hate her.
David Archuleta sings "You're The Voice"
His voice sounded fine, but the melody in the song is just...weird. All over the place, so it did him no favours. I do like that he went uptempo and thus avoided any criticism about only singing ballads, but the song choice didn't work for me. That camera angle that they used at the beginning of the song just made him look so teeny.
Kristy Lee Cook sings "God Bless The USA"
THE LYRICS OMG THE LYRICS. I... This... No, just No. The vocal is servicable, I guess. She'll get through to the next round based on the kind of people who actually buy this kind of flag-waving over-sentimental pap.
David Cook sings "Billie Jean"
Okay, maybe David Cook has the best pure vocal in the competition! And the thing is, he always has the performance aspect to back it up. He looks like a star up there. This was absolutely wonderful. What I love about David is that he does these amazing arrangements, whether he comes up with them himself (like "Hello") or finds them elsewhere (like with this song), and he makes them modern and amazing and his voice is always stellar. I am such a fan!
My Predictions:
Bottom Three: Hmmm.... I think Ramiele is a shoo-in for the bottom three. She was forgettable, and she went first which makes it worse. I think Chikezie will land there just because he was the weakest of the men (considering he doesn't have Jason's pretty factor.) For the third... I'm vacillating between Brooke and Carly... but I think it'll be Carly. She's awkward and annoying, the vocal wasn't great, and also? I hate her.
Going Home: Ramiele.
!!!
David Hernandez? Danny Noriega? Oh, who should I hope for? David was my boy and definitely showed off a great voice, but he's come off as pretty desperate and sort of annoying in his post-elimination interviews. Danny never really showed off his voice on the show, but he KILLED on Ellen and he's got a fabulous personality. Oooh, I hope this rumour is true. Not that it really matters to me, because I can't vote since I'm in Canada and I wouldn't actually be going to a concert. But still. :D
Anyway, tonight the contestants are doing "Songs From The Year You Were Born". So this means that the show has now been on for, what, 5 or 6 weeks, and we STILL won't have heard any songs more current than the 1980's. THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE, IDOL.
Ramiele Malubay sings "Alone"
I really wanted to like this. I thought maybe this could be the "little body/big voice" song that would sort of tell me what people see in her. But honestly, the beginning just bored me (even though it sounded fine to my untrained ears)... and then at the end, she just SCREAMED those last few lines. The background singers did her no favours, either. It wasn't horrible, but it was forgettable. And also, her cutesy baby talk is beyond annoying to me.
Jason Castro sings "Fragile"
He kind of whisper-sings through most of it, but there's one part where he really sings out and that was the only part I really liked. He did the same thing last week: he really sings out one or two lines and his voice sounds awesome, but for the rest of the song it's TOO laid-back. It's not that he can't sing, it's that he chooses not to. Which is weird. He's just so mellow. I still really like him, and [shallow]omg he's so pretty.[/shallow]
Syesha Mercado sings "If I Was Your Woman"
Vocally, I thought this was really good. She resisted the urge to scream at me, and I liked the phrasing. I think she goes overboard on the 'theatrics' during the song (maybe that's the actress in her coming out) but vocally I was able to hear what either people see in her.
Chikezie sings "If Only For One Night"
This is not my kind of song, but his voice sounds really good! I think he's got great range and he always does a really good job of interpreting the song without getting all melodramatic about it. I think he's very underrated, actually, and I hope this is enough to get him through to next week. Kind of interesting to hear Simon's comments, sort of encouraging him to shake it up and be wild like he has the last two weeks. I think if Chikezie did that all the time, Simon would turn on him a la Taylor. Just sort of interesting.
Brooke White sings "Every Breath You Take"
I enjoyed the acoustic beginning, and I like that vulnerable scratchy kind of sound to her voice when it's just her and an instrument. The song lost something when the band joined in... it became ordinary. Brooke always looks so needy while she's waiting for her comments.
Michael Johns sings "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions"
I was dubious when this started, because if you're going to attempt Freddie you'd better KILL it. And Michael Johns... did not disappoint. Whoo! This was GREAT. I've been thinking about why I don't like Michael more, and I came to the conclusion that I really DO like his voice and I think he's very personable, but he always seems tense and as though he's playing a part on stage. Finally, this week, he just looked totally relaxed and he just let himself sing without any preconceived notions of what he should look like or how he should move, and it worked. This was definitely his best performance yet, and if he can keep this relaxed vibe I think he'll be around for awhile, because I honestly think if we are going JUST by vocals (which of course we're not) he has the best voice in the competition.
Carly Smithson sings "Total Eclipse of the Heart"
The thing that pops out to me first of all is that in her interview segment she says she always wanted to be a "pop star". Not a SINGER. Which basically sums up Carly right there. The performance is typical Carly: she squints, frowns, crouches, and looks constipated (though we know that she went to the bathroom before her song, because for some reason she feels the need to share that information with us) and all of that distracts from the vocals, which are not that great anyway. Every week I say it sounds like she's straining for the notes, but this week it sounded worse than usual. It seriously sounded like she was going to lose her voice. Also, I hate her.
David Archuleta sings "You're The Voice"
His voice sounded fine, but the melody in the song is just...weird. All over the place, so it did him no favours. I do like that he went uptempo and thus avoided any criticism about only singing ballads, but the song choice didn't work for me. That camera angle that they used at the beginning of the song just made him look so teeny.
Kristy Lee Cook sings "God Bless The USA"
THE LYRICS OMG THE LYRICS. I... This... No, just No. The vocal is servicable, I guess. She'll get through to the next round based on the kind of people who actually buy this kind of flag-waving over-sentimental pap.
David Cook sings "Billie Jean"
Okay, maybe David Cook has the best pure vocal in the competition! And the thing is, he always has the performance aspect to back it up. He looks like a star up there. This was absolutely wonderful. What I love about David is that he does these amazing arrangements, whether he comes up with them himself (like "Hello") or finds them elsewhere (like with this song), and he makes them modern and amazing and his voice is always stellar. I am such a fan!
My Predictions:
Bottom Three: Hmmm.... I think Ramiele is a shoo-in for the bottom three. She was forgettable, and she went first which makes it worse. I think Chikezie will land there just because he was the weakest of the men (considering he doesn't have Jason's pretty factor.) For the third... I'm vacillating between Brooke and Carly... but I think it'll be Carly. She's awkward and annoying, the vocal wasn't great, and also? I hate her.
Going Home: Ramiele.