Showing posts with label Percy Sledge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Percy Sledge. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Top 9 sing Rock&Roll Hall of Fame

Tonight the top 9 finalists had to make a selection from the inductees of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Michael Jackson was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Jacob Lusk showed that he doesn't have any star quality remotely close to that of the King of Pop as he butchered Man In The Mirror (#1 for 2 weeks in 1988). He really should have switched places with the wonderfully talented singer and songwriter, Siedah Garrett, who was on stage with him doing background vocals. Jacob does not belong front and center.

Janis Joplin was inducted in 1995 and Haley Reinhart performed her classic Piece of my Heart. Haley is taking her game of playing dress up as a pop star way too far. She must be the niece of some high powered record executive to have gotten this far in the competition because she has no likable or desirable vocal talent at all. This was just comical screaming.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was inducted in 1993. Have You Ever Seen The Rain hit #8 in 1971 and Casey Abrams got back up on stage with his upright bass and showed that he's much more of a musician than a singer. His vocals simply aren't that good.

The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, was inducted in 1987. Lauren Alaina took one of the greatest songs of all time, A Natural Woman (#8 - 1967) and made it very emotionless and boring. And the outfit she had on was not flattering at all.

George Harrison has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: once with the Beatles in 1988 and then again as a solo artist in 2004. His power ballad While My Guitar Gently Weeps is the perfect showcase for James Durbin's dynamic musical and vocal range. This was a spectacular, powerful and emotional performance.

The King of Rock-n-Roll, Elvis Presley, was inducted in 1986. Elvis could successfully perform Rock, Soul, Country and Gospel where Scotty McCreery isn't quite as convincing when he steps out of his comfort zone. This was a respectable effort but he really needs to polish things up a lot more before he's ready for the big leagues.

Tina Turner was inducted in 1991 and one of her signature hits is River Deep, Mountain High. This song has a dramatic production value that is an exciting compliment to the outstanding vocals of Pia Toscano. She sounded even better than last week!

Percy Sledge was inducted in 2005 and he is most well-known for his fantastic smash When A Man Loves A Woman that hit #1 for two weeks in 1966. Stefano Langone once again showed that he has all the ingredients necessary to be a huge pop idol. His vocals were over the top amazing as he belted out every lyric with passion and conviction.

Johnny Cash was inducted in 1992 and he is probably the coolest cowboy ever. Paul McDonald is more like the cool cowboy's crazy cousin, but he definitely made Folsom Prison Blues his own. It was the same quirky Paul that we've seen every week.

The division between the good finalists with pop music potential and the other finalists is getting wider and wider. It's very clear that the talented front-runners are Pia, Stefano and James.

Then there's the not-so great ones who should be going home. My prediction for the bottom three vote getters this week is Jacob, Haley and Casey with Haley finally going home this week. Haley has absolutely no star quality or charisma and her performance style is so embarrassing and amateurish. We can only hope that we won't have to see her again.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Top 11 sing #1 Hits

The finalists had the chance to select any song that hit #1 on the Billboard HOT 100. They got a little bit of guidance this week from a 17 singer who has never had a #1 hit of her own, Miley Cyrus.

The Box Tops spent four weeks at #1 with The Letter in 1967 and Lee Dewyze did not do himself a favor by trying to sing this song that should have been much more fun. His tired old rock guy raspy voice just sounded like strained screaming and he had no personality up on stage.

Phil Collins spent three weeks at #1 with Against All Odds in 1984 and Paige Miles could not fall back on the excuse of having a sore throat tonight. The vocal performance she served up was weak from beginning to end. She did not take advantage of any opportunity to belt out the big notes at all.

Queen spent spent four weeks at #1 with Crazy Little Thing Called Love in 1980 and Tim Urban even slid across the stage to prove that he can get hip enough for what this song demands. The fact is that it just wasn't enough. Even with all of his attempts at stage theatrics it was still flat and boring.

Aerosmith hit #1 in 1998 with I Don't Want To Miss A Thing and Aaron Kelly brought his diminutive little self on to the stage to sing this big power ballad. He's not a very dynamic performer or vocalist but he's a nice kid....

Janis Joplin spent two weeks at #1 with Me And Bobby McGee in 1971 and let's be thankful that Crystal Bowersox got this song out of the way early in the competition. She is immediately compared to Janis and now she can put this behind her and start to really be herself.

When A Man Loves A Woman is one of the few songs that has hit #1 by two different artists: for one week by Michael Bolton in 1991 and for two weeks by Percy Sledge in 1966. Michael Lynche put in a great effort to make a hit of this song again. He showed off a very impressive vocal range and coupled that with his nice guy sincerity.

Marvin Gaye spent seven weeks at #1 with I Heard It Through The Grapevine in 1968 and Andrew Garcia hoped to liven up his image with this popular favorite. He failed miserably. His vocals are totally bland and his stage presence is embarrassingly awkward.

Fergie spent one week at #1 with Big Girls Don't Cry in 2007 and Katie Stevens made a great choice in selecting this big ballad. It was right all around in that it showed off her vocal range and it was more fresh and current.

Huey Lewis and The News spent two weeks at #1 with The Power of Love in 1985 and Casey James rocked the audience back to the past along with his bright smile and electric guitar. He's good all around - good looking, good vocals, good guitar playing. There's just nothing extra super great about his performances.

Linda Ronstadt spent one week at #1 with You're No Good in 1975 and Didi Benami tried to jazz things up a bit with her rendition. She tried to make it bigger than the original, but it took her vocals a little out of her range. While the overall performance was pretty fun, it didn't show her at her best.

Stevie Wonder spent one week at #1 with Superstition in 1972 and Siobhan Magnus brought her nerdy girl with an edge persona to this classic jam. What's special about this finalist is that she really pushes herself closer to the edge than anyone else in the competition taking risks both vocally and with her stylish look.

My prediction for the bottom three this week is Paige Miles, Tim Urban and Andrew Garcia. While it would be nice to finally stop Andrew from making a fool of himself, I think he will be coming back next week while Paige end up being the lowest vote getter.