Tonight the Season 14 finalists had to select a song the reveals who they really are from their soul.
Clark started the night out with a wonderful vocal performance of Living For the City, but his second song was truly an outstanding show stopper. He took Josh Turner's Your Man and he genuinely made it his own with light bluesy instrumentation and totally sexy falsetto vocals. It was nothing like the deep voice that Josh sings in and it didn't matter because it was such a beautiful and genuine expression from Clark.
Jax has gotten this far in the competition by putting her own stamp on every song that she does, but some have been more successful than others. Her take on Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys totally missed the mark. Her voice simply isn't good enough to make whatever she was doing worth listing to. She did slightly better with a sincere reading of Human, but her voice is simply too flawed for me to ever want to hear her sing.
Nick is not the best singer in the world, but he's a good looking guy and you can tell he really loves to perform. His heart is really in it when he performs Bright Lights and What Hurts The Most. He's got stage presence, a bright smile, and good vocals to tie it all together.
The bottom two vote getters this week were Tyanna and Rayvon, but the last minute Save from Twitter has come to an end. And once again Rayvon has made it through to the next round while Tyanna's Idol journey has come to an end. I thought she could have made it all the way to the finals, so it's sad that this extremely talented 16 year old is heading home. She perform Run The World to show off a taste of what her fans will get when they see her on tour this summer.
Rayvon's handsome face and silky smooth vocals were outstanding on his version of Need You Now. The depth of emotion he conveyed through these lyrics was so heartfelt and meaningful. It was enough to bring the listeners to tears as he conveyed the yearning so beautifully. And then he took us to an even deeper emotional place on his exceptional rendition of Believe. High marks all around for him this week.
My prediction for the next one to be eliminated is Jax. The kids seem to really like her, but the vocals simply aren't good enough. I don't want to hear her again.
Wednesday, April 29, 2015
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
American Classics
The finalists each performed two songs that were deemed American Classics.
Tyanna was the first one to be assured a place coming back next week. She performed Why Do Fools Fall In Love and Proud Mary. Both of these selections allowed her to show off her impressive vocal range and also her diverse stage presence.
Clark was next and he continues to be the standout front runner because of his wonderful voice and impressive musicianship. He played guitar while rocking out to Superstition and then he switched gears at the piano giving a smooth and creamy version of Moon River.
Jax channeled her inner rock chick on both of her song choices: Piece of My Heart and Beat It. Her voice still isn't that great and these did nothing to take her to another level of artistry.
Nick, on the other hand, managed to make Tom Petty's American Girl entertaining and then he very skillfully re-arranged Only The Good Die Young into a powerful ballad.
Quentin started out strong with a high energy Are You Gonna Go My Way and finished off with a moody and sullen Sound of Silence.
Once again, the bottom two had to perform and wait for the fans to go on Twitter and frantically try and save them from elimination. Tonight it was either going to be #SaveJoey or #SaveRayvon.
Joey is vocally awful. She screeched out My Funny Valentine as best as she could but she simply doesn't have the range capable of handling it. It was dreadful. So was her noisy and clunky effort at Somebody To Love.
Rayvon easily delivered flawless vocals on Long Train Running and he even added some fun choreography to the mix elevate his performance ability. His rendition of Always On My Mind was so pitch perfect and lovely it set him up as the clear favorite for the save.
Happily, Rayvon survived for another week and Joey is finally gone!
With all of the talent less contestants out of the running, it has become much more difficult to predict who will be sent packing next. My bottom two are now Jax and Quentin. I think Jax has a very big fan base, so it looks like Quentin will be the one on his way out. Even though Rayvon has consistently been in the bottom two, he is way too talented to be eliminated.
Tyanna was the first one to be assured a place coming back next week. She performed Why Do Fools Fall In Love and Proud Mary. Both of these selections allowed her to show off her impressive vocal range and also her diverse stage presence.
Clark was next and he continues to be the standout front runner because of his wonderful voice and impressive musicianship. He played guitar while rocking out to Superstition and then he switched gears at the piano giving a smooth and creamy version of Moon River.
Jax channeled her inner rock chick on both of her song choices: Piece of My Heart and Beat It. Her voice still isn't that great and these did nothing to take her to another level of artistry.
Nick, on the other hand, managed to make Tom Petty's American Girl entertaining and then he very skillfully re-arranged Only The Good Die Young into a powerful ballad.
Quentin started out strong with a high energy Are You Gonna Go My Way and finished off with a moody and sullen Sound of Silence.
Once again, the bottom two had to perform and wait for the fans to go on Twitter and frantically try and save them from elimination. Tonight it was either going to be #SaveJoey or #SaveRayvon.
Joey is vocally awful. She screeched out My Funny Valentine as best as she could but she simply doesn't have the range capable of handling it. It was dreadful. So was her noisy and clunky effort at Somebody To Love.
Rayvon easily delivered flawless vocals on Long Train Running and he even added some fun choreography to the mix elevate his performance ability. His rendition of Always On My Mind was so pitch perfect and lovely it set him up as the clear favorite for the save.
Happily, Rayvon survived for another week and Joey is finally gone!
With all of the talent less contestants out of the running, it has become much more difficult to predict who will be sent packing next. My bottom two are now Jax and Quentin. I think Jax has a very big fan base, so it looks like Quentin will be the one on his way out. Even though Rayvon has consistently been in the bottom two, he is way too talented to be eliminated.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Billboard HITS!!!
This week the Idol finalists had to perform any song that was a hit on the Billboard HOT 100. Returning to the Idol stage showing them how it's done was Season 3 Miss American Idol finalist and Oscar winner, Jennifer Hudson, who performed her current hit with Iggy Azeala, Trouble.
The first one to be called to safety was Jax who performed Poker Face. When she gets it right it can be amazing, but more often than not, she misses the mark and I just don't like what she did to the song.
Nick took Teenage Dream and perfectly illustrated why so many of his fans listen to those lyrics and think of him.
Trying to prove he is more than just a high fashion artist Quentin showed off his vocal range quite successfully on his rendition of Latch.
I have always thought that Wrecking Ball was a good song, but I never wanted to hear the horrible sound of Miley's voice attempting to sing. When someone actually has a nice voice, the song can be very powerful. Joey's voice is even more dreadfully worse than Miley's so there was no improvement here.
Clark is jumping ahead of the competition by leaps and bounds with outstanding performances like Make It Rain.
Tyanna did what Joey was not able to do. Her version of Stay was powerful, emotional and vocally better than what Rihanna does. Tyanna served up a very impressive improvement of the original.
Rayvon and Qaasim were the two lowest vote getters and once again this week the fans had to tweet either #SaveRayvon or #SaveQaasim to decide who was staying.
Rayvon gave us his usual smooth as silk vocals on Set Fire To The Rain and he stepped it up another notch higher with belting out some powerhouse notes at the end.
Qaasim jumped around the stage performing Hey Ya and put on a pretty good show, but his vocals remain pure torture on the ears.
I am happy to report that the fans have spoken and Rayvon is coming back next week while Qaasim is finally going home. Two down and one to go. We just need to get rid of Joey next week and this competition can really begin!
The first one to be called to safety was Jax who performed Poker Face. When she gets it right it can be amazing, but more often than not, she misses the mark and I just don't like what she did to the song.
Nick took Teenage Dream and perfectly illustrated why so many of his fans listen to those lyrics and think of him.
Trying to prove he is more than just a high fashion artist Quentin showed off his vocal range quite successfully on his rendition of Latch.
I have always thought that Wrecking Ball was a good song, but I never wanted to hear the horrible sound of Miley's voice attempting to sing. When someone actually has a nice voice, the song can be very powerful. Joey's voice is even more dreadfully worse than Miley's so there was no improvement here.
Clark is jumping ahead of the competition by leaps and bounds with outstanding performances like Make It Rain.
Tyanna did what Joey was not able to do. Her version of Stay was powerful, emotional and vocally better than what Rihanna does. Tyanna served up a very impressive improvement of the original.
Rayvon and Qaasim were the two lowest vote getters and once again this week the fans had to tweet either #SaveRayvon or #SaveQaasim to decide who was staying.
Rayvon gave us his usual smooth as silk vocals on Set Fire To The Rain and he stepped it up another notch higher with belting out some powerhouse notes at the end.
Qaasim jumped around the stage performing Hey Ya and put on a pretty good show, but his vocals remain pure torture on the ears.
I am happy to report that the fans have spoken and Rayvon is coming back next week while Qaasim is finally going home. Two down and one to go. We just need to get rid of Joey next week and this competition can really begin!
Thursday, April 2, 2015
Kelly Clarkson Week!!!!!
The Season One Miss American Idol winner, Kelly Clarkson, came back to mentor the finalists. In addition to giving them some guidance for tonight's performances she also graced the stage herself. She performed her current single, Heartbeat Song, from her recent #1 album, Piece by Piece. She also brought back At Last, the song she did at her very first audition.
The first finalist to be back for another week is Nick. He did a very nice job performing Catch My Breath.
Jax delivered her best vocal yet on Beautiful Disaster. But that's not really saying much because up til now, most of her performances have been vocal disasters.
Tyanna has consistently provided amazing vocals week after week and tonight's version of Mr. Know It All was yet another one.
Joey has been very consistent is serving up songs with a new twist on their arrangements as she did once again with Miss Independent. But as usual, her completely dreadful voice made it impossible to enjoy.
Quentin is a very stylish guy who is great to look at. While his vocals on Dark Side were only pretty good, they were still smooth enough to make it an overall good performance.
The judges saved him so now we have another week of witnessing how bad Qaasim's voice is. Tonight his lack of vocal talent was completely exposed with his acoustic version of Stronger. He is going from bad to worse...
Clark is still the shining star in this bunch as he proved tonight with his outstanding take on The Trouble With Love Is.
The bottom two this week were Rayvon and Daniel. They each performed and the audience had 5 minutes to tweet either #SaveRayvon or #SaveDaniel to decide which of the two was coming back next week. Daniel's weak and crackling voice absolutely butchered Breakaway while the silky smooth vocal styling of Rayvon elevated Since U Been Gone to a whole new level.
Thankfully the fans voted to #SaveRayvon so we are finally rid of little Daniel. One down and two to go. Joey and Qaasim will continue to be my prediction for the bottom two until they are gone.
The first finalist to be back for another week is Nick. He did a very nice job performing Catch My Breath.
Jax delivered her best vocal yet on Beautiful Disaster. But that's not really saying much because up til now, most of her performances have been vocal disasters.
Tyanna has consistently provided amazing vocals week after week and tonight's version of Mr. Know It All was yet another one.
Joey has been very consistent is serving up songs with a new twist on their arrangements as she did once again with Miss Independent. But as usual, her completely dreadful voice made it impossible to enjoy.
Quentin is a very stylish guy who is great to look at. While his vocals on Dark Side were only pretty good, they were still smooth enough to make it an overall good performance.
The judges saved him so now we have another week of witnessing how bad Qaasim's voice is. Tonight his lack of vocal talent was completely exposed with his acoustic version of Stronger. He is going from bad to worse...
Clark is still the shining star in this bunch as he proved tonight with his outstanding take on The Trouble With Love Is.
The bottom two this week were Rayvon and Daniel. They each performed and the audience had 5 minutes to tweet either #SaveRayvon or #SaveDaniel to decide which of the two was coming back next week. Daniel's weak and crackling voice absolutely butchered Breakaway while the silky smooth vocal styling of Rayvon elevated Since U Been Gone to a whole new level.
Thankfully the fans voted to #SaveRayvon so we are finally rid of little Daniel. One down and two to go. Joey and Qaasim will continue to be my prediction for the bottom two until they are gone.
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