Hello,
Before I get to my review, I really hate, hate this format. It sucks, one bad performance and it's all over for a contestant. I prefer Season 7's format, a contestant could build some momentum and gain voters. I don't even know if David Cook would have made the Top 12 with this format. The biggest negative using this format is that David Archuleta probably would have won last year. Archuleta is so mediocre. I also hate that the band is hidden somewhere. Of course as with anything involving corporate America, it all comes down to money and metrics. Who cares if the product suffers in the corporate America world? You'd think that Fox would be a little more protective of the #1 show in America.
Interacting with the band really helps some performers. I also hate in the Top 36 round the singers can't use instruments. That's another thing that really helped David Cook. Having them sing without them playing an instrument or interacting with a band isn't how it's going to be when they are out on their own. If "AI" is really trying to create a music superstar, why don''t they replicate the actual experience as much as possible?
The first half of tonight's show was terrible. In the parenthesis contains my chances of them advancing to the Top 12 based on tonight's show. The second part is how they'll do in my next Top 36 rankings. I copied and pasted the singers and the songs they sang from mjsbigblog.com. Thanks MJ.
1) Von Smith (.001% TMAR: about the same) He sang “You’re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gaye. He's finally learning restraint. Now he's just annoying and it seemed like that song lasted forever. When Simon Cowell compared him to Clay Aiken, I think that's all that needs to be said.
2) Taylor Vaifanua - (.001, TMAR: going down) She sang “If I Ain’t Got You” by the amazing Alicia Keys. Ryan said "the pride of Hurricane, Utah", maybe not after that performance. I like her nice, husky voice, but she's a mediocre performer. She's going to be voted off with no chance at a wildcard. Simon was absolutely right when he said that her performance was "very generic" and "bland". After less than inspiring performances by her, Stevie Wright, Jasmine Murray and Arianna Afsar, "AI's" minimum age should be raised to 19 at least.
3) Alex Wagner-Trugman - (.001% TMAR: With so many bad performances in the top 36 he might be saying about the same. The bottom third of the Top 36 is terrible.) He sang “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues” by Elton John. I like his sense of humor and it was obvious he was nervous. He started out well, but when he started growling the performance really suffered.
4) Arianna Afsar - (.0001% TMAR: going down) She sang “The Winner Takes it All” by Abba. First of all why did she choose that song? Second what was with that janky arrangement? Terrible arrangements of songs continues to mar this season. Other than she's attractive, there's nothing good to say about that performance.
5) Ju’Not Joyner - (10%, TMAR: he'll be moving from not rated.) He sang “Hey There Delilah” by The Plain White Ts. The judges really liked him, but I didn't. I hated his arrangement of that song. I had to listen to The Plain White T's recording of that song to purge my memory of his dreary performance.
6) Kristen McNamara - (5% With her battling Felicia Barton and Lil Rounds, her chances of advancing from tonight's show are slim. TMAR: up) She sang “Give Me One Reason” by Tracy Chapman. I really liked her arrangement of that song. Up to this point by far the best performance of the night. She's goofy, that might also hold her back.
7) Nate Marshall - (.0001%, TMAR- going down) Freak! He tortured “I Would Do Anything for Love” by Meat Loaf. Oh man, did his performance suck! It was awful, awful, awful. What a complete and utter train wreck! Simon said he was "verging on excruciating", No Simon he was excruciating. Paula said he sang the "Boy George version of this song". That's probably her most accurate comment of the night.
8) Felicia Barton (75%, TMAR going up) She sang “No One” by Alicia Keys. Eight performances in and this is only the second good performance of the night? I love her voice. I'm glad she got a second chance also and she took full advantage of it. How did she not make the original Top 36 and Nate Marshall did I'll never understand. This was by far the weakest of the three groups in the Top 36. I can think of several people who were better than tonight's clunker performances.
Just for the record here are some people who are better than the bottom third of the Top 36, or at least couldn't be any worse. 1) David Osmond 2) Leneshe Young 3) Jessica Furney, 4) Emily Wynne-Hughes, 5) Rose Flack, 6) Frankie Jordan, 7) Chris Kirkham and 8) Michael Perelli.
9)Scott MacIntyre - (50%, TMAR: about the same)He sang “Mandolin Rain” by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. First of all I love this song and I love the lyrics. (What was Simon talking about anyway?) He's really likeable. The 800 pound gorilla in the room, no one wants to criticize the blind guy. No one wants to come off as insensitive. That being said, I really, really like him. He may not be the most exciting contestant ever, but either was Blake Lewis or David Archuleta.
10) Kendall Beard - (.001, TMAR: about the same). She sang “This One’s for the Girls” by Martina McBride. Of the two blondes that I couldn't keep track of, she'll be the one who will be easiest to forget. A very mediocre performance of that song. If that was her best performance, she didn't belong in the Top 36 either.
11) Jorge Nunez - (50%, TMAR: about the same. He sang “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” by Elton John. I really like him. The song started out slow and I couldn't figure out what he was doing that was bothering me. Then I read Michael Slezak's review over at ew.com. Slezak pointed out "Well, the whole thing was awfully overwrought, dude. I mean, when each word is sung at Full Emotional Throttle, it kind of leaves the performance without any way to crescendo, y'know?" I absolutely agree with him. (Although Michael I have no idea how you and the judges like Ju'Not Joyner.)
12) Lil Rounds - (99.9%, TMAR: because she's already so high, she'll stay about the same.) She sang “Be Without You” by Mary J. Blige. I admit this is a song I've never heard and I'm not a Mary J. Blige fan. However Lil Rounds is awesome and I love her powerful voice. I see Rounds going very far in this competition. I can see Rounds taking over the Whitney Houston mantle, because Houston doesn't seem to be interested in having it anymore.
From tonight's show I'm guessing that Lil Rounds and Felicia Barton will make the Top 12 and the male contestant will either be Jorge Nunez or Scott MacIntyre. The wildcards from this show in my opinion should be Kristin McNamara and who doesn't get voted in out of Nunez or MacIntyre.
I have to go, I have a new Top 36 to write. I'm not sure how much my Top 12 will have in common with the Top 12 that starts next week. Remember tonight is the results show and tomorrow is the one hour wildcard round.
Have a good day, themusicaddict
No comments:
Post a Comment