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It got just busy enough in the office today to make it hard to type all this up. Luckily I took notes last night!
American Idol - The 12
1. Ace: The song was too high for him, he strained a lot, the Michael Jackson dancing was scary, and overall the performance was "meh". It could have been worse, but unfortunately he was first and forgettable. Or not unfortunately. Depends on how it goes down tonight.
2. Kellie: She's wooden when the song isn't big (or country) and doesn't know what to do on the stage. Her low range is bad and the whole thing was horrendously boring. Plus her bra was showing (at least it was black). On the other hand, Simon insulted Dolly, which gets on my nerves. (And just an FYI, I totally would have been talking about getting my shoes on sale too. It's the frugal. Grow up poor and you can't help but flaunt a great deal.)
3. Elliott: He has Stevie's soul in him, but his voice is too...something for this song. Which is weird. He did a good job and made me smile. And him crying over Stevie? Awwwww! He also gave just the right amount of stage performance for teh song. But, it's hard at times to figure out how to be original on a song by Stevie (as mom put it, when the original is that good, changing it can make it crappy), when your style IS Stevie.
4. Mandisa: She was flat on the low notes and the song was too low for her. I love the stylist who got hold of her, though. The whole look is perfect. The big stage suits her, though. And I'm glad that she toned the big portions down for the actual taping (the replay showed flaws on several people, most notably Melissa for getting "premonition" right and Mandisa, who was too big in rehearsal).
5. Bucky: He chose the best song of the night, by far. And while he didn't have the best vocals, his voice worked with the song and made it entertaining. Now, let's just work on the stage presence (no dancing!!!!!), kill the hairdresser (what were they *thinking*?) and work on him forcing some notes. He can definitely learn some things before he leaves the show that will benefit him. (He at least recognizes and works with constructive criticism.)
6. Melissa: *boggling* The people who do not know this song know only one word in it definitely, and that's "premonition". How can that word be messed up? How? It's like singing "Superstition" and messing up that word! Honestly, I'm lost on her, because of the lyric problems. You could tell she was sick, so some notes can be attributed to that. And what she sang right she sang well, because it played to the strengths in her voice. But...PREMONITION!
7. Lisa: Tamyra Gray and Alicia Keys would like their schtick and wardrobe back, thanks. *snore* The vocals weren't where they should have been (shaky and forced). She actually worked the stage, but that's more a product of being used to one than any actual chemistry with the audience. I still don't get her hype, because she's tired and bland. She's this year's Carrie Underwood - the girl they won't criticize when there's a lot to criticize.
8. Kevin: I love the snark of him choosing this song. It's funny! But the dancing is hideous and the notes are way off. Plus, his bitter is NOT pretty.
9. Katharine: Vocally that was the best of the night. It was well sung and flawless. But... She's just a touch cabaret in her delivery. It's so "acted". She makes me think of great female singers who are just too white bread without any grit to be popular. Heck, Celine Dion has more grit than Katharine. What I wish is that Katharine would embrace being white bread. Bette Midler? Outstanding showwoman, amazing singer, white bread. Oh, and I would appreciate if Katharine would stop trying to be the cute, funny one. She's trying to be Kellie (or Kelly Clarkson), and it doesn't jive with me. Fake is fake, no matter what.
10. Taylor: YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perfection. That was like watching George Huff do "Take Me To The Pilot".
11. Paris: Her vocals are spot on, and I like her jazzy riffs. I want her to bring it back just a notch, though. Stevie compared her vocally to Fantasia, but Fantasia understood the power of dynamics. Remember "Always on my Mind"? That was a study in understanding the power of the song. To this day it's actually my favorite performance of Fantasia's that season, even over the original Summertime. Paris still is just a bit too much all the time.
12. Chris: Was the music too loud for anyone else? I couldn't hear the lyrics most of the time, although I did pick up a few bad notes. He performed great. Unfortunately, I don't think it was as outstanding as the judges wanted to make it, because he had an out. If he had taken any other Stevie song and done the same thing, it would have been exciting and original. Instead he had something that had already been rocked out by another group. It felt less like original and more just nice karaoke.
***
I voted like hell for Elliott, since he was the only one I could get through on (this made me sad). 20 minutes of voting. Straight. *sigh* Got through twice for Mandisa.
***
1. Taylor
2. Katharine
3. Chris
4. Paris
5. Bucky
6. Mandisa
7. Elliott
8. Lisa
9. Melissa
10. Kevin
11. Kellie
12. Ace
In a perfect world, any of the bottom three would be gone. I don't know what fan base will rally, though. Heck, Melissa could get the boot. Bucky or Elliott could be gone (which would be a shame). I really feel Ace was in the worst spot, though, and didn't give anything with his personality to make him be remembered.
American Idol - The 12
1. Ace: The song was too high for him, he strained a lot, the Michael Jackson dancing was scary, and overall the performance was "meh". It could have been worse, but unfortunately he was first and forgettable. Or not unfortunately. Depends on how it goes down tonight.
2. Kellie: She's wooden when the song isn't big (or country) and doesn't know what to do on the stage. Her low range is bad and the whole thing was horrendously boring. Plus her bra was showing (at least it was black). On the other hand, Simon insulted Dolly, which gets on my nerves. (And just an FYI, I totally would have been talking about getting my shoes on sale too. It's the frugal. Grow up poor and you can't help but flaunt a great deal.)
3. Elliott: He has Stevie's soul in him, but his voice is too...something for this song. Which is weird. He did a good job and made me smile. And him crying over Stevie? Awwwww! He also gave just the right amount of stage performance for teh song. But, it's hard at times to figure out how to be original on a song by Stevie (as mom put it, when the original is that good, changing it can make it crappy), when your style IS Stevie.
4. Mandisa: She was flat on the low notes and the song was too low for her. I love the stylist who got hold of her, though. The whole look is perfect. The big stage suits her, though. And I'm glad that she toned the big portions down for the actual taping (the replay showed flaws on several people, most notably Melissa for getting "premonition" right and Mandisa, who was too big in rehearsal).
5. Bucky: He chose the best song of the night, by far. And while he didn't have the best vocals, his voice worked with the song and made it entertaining. Now, let's just work on the stage presence (no dancing!!!!!), kill the hairdresser (what were they *thinking*?) and work on him forcing some notes. He can definitely learn some things before he leaves the show that will benefit him. (He at least recognizes and works with constructive criticism.)
6. Melissa: *boggling* The people who do not know this song know only one word in it definitely, and that's "premonition". How can that word be messed up? How? It's like singing "Superstition" and messing up that word! Honestly, I'm lost on her, because of the lyric problems. You could tell she was sick, so some notes can be attributed to that. And what she sang right she sang well, because it played to the strengths in her voice. But...PREMONITION!
7. Lisa: Tamyra Gray and Alicia Keys would like their schtick and wardrobe back, thanks. *snore* The vocals weren't where they should have been (shaky and forced). She actually worked the stage, but that's more a product of being used to one than any actual chemistry with the audience. I still don't get her hype, because she's tired and bland. She's this year's Carrie Underwood - the girl they won't criticize when there's a lot to criticize.
8. Kevin: I love the snark of him choosing this song. It's funny! But the dancing is hideous and the notes are way off. Plus, his bitter is NOT pretty.
9. Katharine: Vocally that was the best of the night. It was well sung and flawless. But... She's just a touch cabaret in her delivery. It's so "acted". She makes me think of great female singers who are just too white bread without any grit to be popular. Heck, Celine Dion has more grit than Katharine. What I wish is that Katharine would embrace being white bread. Bette Midler? Outstanding showwoman, amazing singer, white bread. Oh, and I would appreciate if Katharine would stop trying to be the cute, funny one. She's trying to be Kellie (or Kelly Clarkson), and it doesn't jive with me. Fake is fake, no matter what.
10. Taylor: YYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Perfection. That was like watching George Huff do "Take Me To The Pilot".
11. Paris: Her vocals are spot on, and I like her jazzy riffs. I want her to bring it back just a notch, though. Stevie compared her vocally to Fantasia, but Fantasia understood the power of dynamics. Remember "Always on my Mind"? That was a study in understanding the power of the song. To this day it's actually my favorite performance of Fantasia's that season, even over the original Summertime. Paris still is just a bit too much all the time.
12. Chris: Was the music too loud for anyone else? I couldn't hear the lyrics most of the time, although I did pick up a few bad notes. He performed great. Unfortunately, I don't think it was as outstanding as the judges wanted to make it, because he had an out. If he had taken any other Stevie song and done the same thing, it would have been exciting and original. Instead he had something that had already been rocked out by another group. It felt less like original and more just nice karaoke.
***
I voted like hell for Elliott, since he was the only one I could get through on (this made me sad). 20 minutes of voting. Straight. *sigh* Got through twice for Mandisa.
***
1. Taylor
2. Katharine
3. Chris
4. Paris
5. Bucky
6. Mandisa
7. Elliott
8. Lisa
9. Melissa
10. Kevin
11. Kellie
12. Ace
In a perfect world, any of the bottom three would be gone. I don't know what fan base will rally, though. Heck, Melissa could get the boot. Bucky or Elliott could be gone (which would be a shame). I really feel Ace was in the worst spot, though, and didn't give anything with his personality to make him be remembered.
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