The only two I care about are Jacob and Naima. Naima was ‘off’ tonight, which I didn’t think would be possible. She was SO good last week.
Naima does nothing for me. She’s not bad, she’s just not interesting, IMO.
Well, this is going to be an interesting season. There are no obvious train wrecks and no obvious stars. I suspect the votes are going to be close, and it’s going to be a real crapshoot from week to week. It’ll come down to who’s more likable, who fits the most popular genre, who’s attractive, and all that stuff. The women are probably in trouble because too many of them sort of blend together and they’ll split each other’s votes. The guys are all pretty distinctive.
Weakest of the night were Lauren and (I hate to say it), Paul. Paul dude, if you claim to want to fit into the alt-country model, you really need to learn what that genre is about. That Ryan Adams cover just sucked. And it’s not just that the vocal was weird, but the whole interpretation of the song was just bizarre. You’re singing lines that are supposed to tear your heart out, and you’re singing them with a big gleaming smile while spreading your arms wide open like you just broke the tape in a damned marathon or something. Very strange. You went from being one of my favorites to being someone I could really learn to hate in one song.
For those of you who haven’t heard Ryan Adams sing this song, Check it out.. It’s a really good tune. You might want to call a suicide hotline first and put them on standby, though. Just in case.
Lauren was just boring. She hit the notes, but damn that song just laid there on the stage like a dead fish. Judging by her dress, it might have been a puffer fish.
Ashton was also boring. Totally generic. She should be a backup singer for someone - maybe for Melinda Doolittle in an ironic twist.
I really like Casey (although I agree with Diogenes that it wasn’t his best), and James Durbin really impressed me. I had him pegged as an Adam Lambert wanna be without quite the vocal gift, but he showed some pretty impressive control during “Maybe I’m Amazed” (which is Paul McCartney’s best solo song, btw.). He even dialed it back from McCartney’s shrieking vocals, which surprised me. Unfortunately, he had his tail docked. I guess it didn’t match the breed standard for rockers any more.
I picked Pia as my choice to win this season, and tonight did nothing to dissuade me from that. She’s not the singer I’d personally choose, but she’s a pro and she’s got the whole package.
Jacob was Jacob, with a little less Jacob than we’re used to. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing. He actually bored me.
I’m on the west coast so I haven’t seen everybody yet, but I hated Ashton. I thought she was off tune badly. I miss Simon. These judges are just too easy on all of them.
The most cringe-worthy performances of the evening, IMO, were Paul and Karen Rodriguez. Best were James and Pia.
Paul’s upbeat and epileptic dancing was a completely different energy level than whatever song he and the band were playing. It was like he was dancing like no one was watching when, honestly, no one was listening either.
Karen Rodriguez’s rendition of Selena’s beautiful “I Will Fall In Love” was horrific. She was completely out of key. Her low notes were inaudible and her top notes were disastrous. It’s a shame that she looked so beautiful and sang so awful.
Thia was a disappointment. Not horrible, though. However. She really needs to learn to handle criticism without looking so glum and defeated. She’s 16, for pete’s sake.
Ashton’s song choice was terrible. Her voice sounded tinny and she kept flailing her arm around. She’s beautiful, though. Not many women could have pulled off that look, including the silver eye shadow.
Scotty did okay, but can he do anything but country? It’s funny because I told my husband, “I can’t look at him without thinking of ‘Mad’ magazine.”
Casey was good, but not earth shattering. He has a joie de vivre that I enjoy. He reminds me of the kid in high school who wasn’t all that good looking but had no problem finding prom dates because he had loads of charisma.
Stefano was good.
Pia was the best female performer. My only criticism is that she needed some of the hair gloss that Jennifer Lopez was peddling on the commercial. The back-lighting was hell on her hair.
Hailey was fine. My husband thinks she’s gorgeous.
Lauren A. is cute as a button.
Jacob - meh. “I Believe I Can Fly” is a great song, but for pete’s sake, could he have sang the melody ONCE before he went off on all his vocal acrobatics? The 1:40 time limit didn’t give him time to set the foundation, I get that, but just because he has it doesn’t mean he has to use it non-stop. There’s something to be said for building a song.
Naima and I just don’t get each other yet. I know everyone, including the judges, are really pulling for her. So far, I think her song choices have not helped her.
James was the best of the night. Smart song choice. His voice is reminiscent of Jon Bon Jovi, but with more vocal control and range. Great voice for rocking it out, but I agree that it’s refreshing that he doesn’t over use it. (Jacob, take note.)
Finally, the judges could be less nice from time to time.
The judges are too damn nice. They were much better during the auditions. Don’t make me miss Simon, guys.
Lauren Alaina - Boring and pitchy; she seemed out of breath throughout. Bad song choice. Plus, she looked like she was in her pyjamas. 4/10
Casey Abrams - This song normally bores the shit out of me, but it was a surprisingly good choice for him - it showed off his singing early on, and his personality later. 7/10
Ashthon Jones - Flat on so many notes. That was not good enough. 4/10
Paul McDonald - How drunk was he for this performance? He’s usually weird and charming; this was just weird. 2/10
Pia Toscano - Nice, heartfelt ballad - just like last week. Time to show us your depth of talent. 8/10
James Durbin - Not bad, not bad at all. Less screeching than I expected. 7/10
Hayley Reinhart - Nice. Who knew she could do that? My only problem is that Leann Rimes did it just like that already - why do it again? 6.5/10
Jacob Lusk - I believe he can oversing. I’m not sure I believe he can actually hit the notes he’s aiming for. This guy always looks like a drag queen dressed in men’s clothing to me. 3/10
This Megia - I’ve figured out what bugs me about her - her dead eyes. She looks like a psychokiller ninja assassin most of the time (when, funnily enough, she isn’t smiling). That was technically good, but it didn’t amaze me. 5/10
Stefano Langone - Oh boy. I’m sure he’ll find the melody at some point…that was a trainwreck. 3/10
Karen Rodriguez - Again, J.Lo should be considering a copyright infringement suit. That was pitchy in spots, but some nice moments. 5/10
Alfred E. Newman (Scotty McCreery) - God, I hate country. I also hate looking at this smarmy kid and his sideways glances. Again, nothing remarkable about his performance. 4/10
Naima Adedapo - This is not a singer’s song - a flawed choice? She was the only girl who didn’t put me to sleep tonight. 6/10 (because of the dancing and performance)
My overall take on the night - boring, and frustrating because there were some great singers on stage.
Oh yeah, I forgot about Hayley Reinhart. I thought that was maybe the best vocal performance of the night. Not my style of music, but damn that’s a hard song to sing, and she nailed it. Those slow vocal bends that stayed right on pitch were very impressive. And, it was a great interpretation of the song.
So who do you think is going home? I’d guess Ashthon (didn’t get many votes in the round of 24, don’t think she did anything to change that), Thia, or Karen.
I don’t much like the ballads that Pia has sung so far, but she’s my favorite to win right now. She seems like Carrie Underwood to me, in that she sings well, looks great, has articulate but inoffensively bland things to say, and would probably do well with the sort of publicity an Idol win would provide.
DialIdol results are up
Alfred E Newman, James, Pia, Jacob are safe. everyone else is at risk with Casey and Paul at the bottom of the list.
With this year’s online voting, I really don’t know how much credence DialIdol has this year. The two highest rated girls from last week (and deemed ‘safe’) didn’t make the top 5 cut, while two of DI’s lowest three girls from last week were indeed safe.
Lauren - dull
Casey – great
Ashthon - flat and off-key. Can’t the judges hear this?
Paul -weird whispery singing. They couldn’t hear this either?
Pia --excellent
James --very good, better than expected, emotional range unexpected too
Haley either dull or irritating.
Jacob good
Thia -good but should not have changed up the song
Stefano, just okay
Karen, okay
Scotty, good but kinda the same sort of good all the time
Naima - interesting to look at but the song choice was not good.
Top to bottom:
- Casey
- James
- Naima
- Thea
- Pia
- Stefano
- Scotty
- Karen
- Ashthon
- Lauren
- Paul
- Haley
- Jacob
Jimbo pointed out how Jacob Lusk’s face fell when Randy didn’t fellate him over his performance - I get the impression he hasn’t had a lot of realistic feedback in his life - everyone’s just gushed over him. I do think he can sing, but he really needs a lot of work to become a singer.
Was Scotty’s mic turned on during the group thing?
I think the Group sing is pre-recorded and lip-sync-ed.
They identified the bottom three a little different tonight, didn’t they. They only brought 6 singers total to the stage.
I don’t think the judges will be using their "save’. Where did I get the idea that they were eliminating two contestants tonight because of the 13th singer?
At first I was thinking that they pulled the wrong people out, especially since he told one person she was in the bottom and then kinda tacked on a “oh, yeah, so are you”
But looking at it, I’m guessing it’s because they’re dropping down to one hour now, so they’re probably just trying to hustle things along.
That was definitely the right choice.
Yeah, she never should have been there in the first place. It should have been Lauren Turner, Brett, or Robbie.
They probably had it turned down so his bullfrog twang wouldn’t induce cringes.
Can you guys spoil me on the highlights of today’s show?