I swear I just don’t get the appeal of Kim Caldwell. It must be the blonde bimbo thing or something because the girl is, at best, a mediocre singer. Admittedly, she performed well last night, but I’ll say about her what Simon said about Vanessa – she’s a better performer than she is a singer. And you know why people grind their voice when they sing? Because they Don’t Sing Well! They can’t find a note and hold it, so they grind it, thinking it sounds sexy or something. It doesn’t. It just sounds unprofessional and crappy.
Josh surprised me. I really thought he was overrated, but I think he sounded pretty good last night. However, if Simon thinks Clay sounded like Motown on Broadway, how could he miss that Josh sounded like Motown in Nashville? He actually managed to make a rockin’ Motown song sound like a Country ballad! Good, but not my style. He may make it to the top 5, but no way can he win.
As for Julia, her performance last night sucked. She seemed scared in front of such a big, live audience or something. All she did was shift her weight from one foot to the other, moving side-to-side. However, her singing voice outshined Kim Caldwell by about 1000 volts. Julia can sing. She hits her notes, she holds them and they sound crisp and clear. None of that gurgling crap going on. She needs help with her stage presence for sure, but she’s far superior to Kim C talent-wise.
Ruben was the biggest shocker for me last night. I kept wondering what anyone saw in him and how he’d managed to make it this far. But his voice sounded great and he made that song his own. I was very impressed. Let’s see if he can stay consistent. I predict he’ll go far.
And speaking of consistent – I don’t care if Clay has the geek look going on – he’s the absolute winner as far as talent and stage presence in this competition. He’s confident, he’s charming, he’s fun and he’s got an awesome voice. He has never failed to come through no matter what song he’s sung or under what circumstances he’s had to sing them (a capella, piano only, live audience, etc.). He’s downright the best in this bunch and I hope he wins it all.
I think Vanessa is adorable and I really, really like her voice and her style. I’d definitely buy a CD of hers. She’s actually my #2 pick, right behind Clay.
Trenyce needs to STOP with the ridiculous hand motions. What was with tracing the tracks of tears down her cheek? What’s up with her patting her cheek? Why is she like a damn pantomime?! Wasn’t some other contestant told not to do that because it looks stoopid? Shouldn’t that same advice apply to everyone? She’s a good singer – she’s another one who I thought was overrated but surprised me last night. I like her singing, for the most part. She’s just got to knock off the hand gestures.
Carmen – nice surprise there, too, but I don’t think she’s got what it takes to hold on to the very end and beat Clay, Vanessa, Ruben, Trenyce, or even Julia, who I think are the toprunners in this competition.
Kimberly Locke – oh my, what a shame. She sounded simply dreadful. As much as I loved Frenchie Davis in this competition, I thought Kim was actually the better singer between the 2 of them. (In their “Band of Gold” duet, Kim not only outsung Frenchie, but Frenchie didn’t even sing the right words (which others were criticized for by the judges, but she wasn’t!)) But even though I thought Kim sang better (at least in that number), I haven’t liked her attitude at all. Well last night she totally blew it. She’s been great at times and just so/so at times, but last night she just plain stunk.
Corey. Just go away. Ugh. You suck.
And poor, poor Charles. He’s a cute kid, but completely talentless. I think he’s gone tonight.
This week’s stars were Clay, Ruben, Vanessa and Trenyce.
