The final 12 female contestants of American Idol season 9 took the stage Tuesday night for their first performance of the competition. This was their first impression on the voting audience; a chance to wow them and the judges. Unfortunately, the judges were not amazed, nor was I.
While Janell Wheeler of Orlando, Fla. and Siobhan Magnus of Cape Cod, Mass. delivered lackluster performances, they should not be in danger of being cut on Thursday’s elimination show. Judge Randy Jackson felt Magnus took too long to open up during her performance and could have done better. However, the judges did agree her tone was good. Wheeler’s nervousness showed through in addition to falling flat on the chorus. Three out of four judges agreed she chose the wrong song to produce a stellar performance, yet Jackson, DioGuardi, and DeGeneres like her voice. I personally was not a fan of either and, based on last night’s performances, can see them being eliminated before the final 12.
Katelyn Epperly of West Des Moines, Iowa, Katie Stevens of Middlebury, Conn., and Michelle Delamor of Miami all gave solid, but safe or predictable performances. Though Epperly brought her own style to the song, judge Simon Cowell thought it was messy. Stevens sang a powerful song with few mistakes, but, according to the judges, it was way too mature of a song to be done by a 17-year-old. Delamor gave a strong rendition of Alicia Keys’ Fallin, but it was a song they expected her to sing and thought it was too safe to make a good first impression. I would like to see Delamor and Stevens make it to the final 12, but they need to produce a solid performance outside of their comfort zone for that to happen. Expect all three to make it to the next round.
Lilly Scott of Denver, Didi Benami of Knoxville, Tenn., and Crystal Bowersox of Elliston, Ohio were the three best performers of the night. Scott has a unique voice and unique look. I think judge Randy Jackson described her best when he said she is “a real indie artist.” Her performance embodied who she is, but it lacked starpower. Benami’s jazz vocals are stunning, but, again, no star power. Judge Ellen Degeneres said she was a bit low key and I agree. However, I do think that she has the potential to step up and be the final female competitior. Bowersox played the guitar and harmonica during a great rendition of Alanis Morissette’s Hand in My Pocket. Judge Simon Cowell admitted he likes her, though he believes she resembles every other musician on a street corner. I rarely disagree with Cowell (hence the reason I am a fan of his insight and honesty) but, on this statement, I do. Bowersox knows her talent and her voice and appears to want to perform more than anything else. Her voice is not as unique as a few others in the competition, but it is definitely more unique than those on a street corner, at least in my opinion.
Unfortunately for Paige Miles of Naples, Fla., Ashley Rodriguez of Chelsea, Mass., Lacey Brown of Amarillo, Texas, and Haeley Vaughn of Fort Collins, Colo., two of them will most likely be going home on Thursday. All four performances not only failed to wow the judges and myself, but there were pitch and timing mistakes and all four women made poor song choices. Cowell thought Miles’ performance looked like that of a wedding singer and Rodriguez’s performance was clumsy. Vaughn, the youngest of the group, did not hit her high notes and, I believe had the worst performance of the night. Brown disappointed me as I liked her vocals and style during the auditions but then she delivered a lousy performance of Fleetwood Mac’s Landslide. She sounded more like Billy Corgan’s (Smashing Pumpkins) version than that of Stevie Nicks. The judges seemed to agree with me that her falsetto was off and she can do better.
My vote is for Ashley Rodriguez and Haeley Vaughn to go home, but we will see what America thinks on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment