WOW. Tonight was a little rocky.... I really thought we were in for a treat, given the talent remaining and the theme, but I think the ship sprung a few leaks this evening. Wow.
Anyway --
ROUND ONE
1. Jordin -- Very good, but she HAS been better. I give the nod to Jordin in round one in part because, given some of what came before, for her to just go out there and sing the song nice and straightforward was quite refreshing.
2. LaKisha -- Despite a few "off" spots, I really liked this a lot and I'm not entirely sure why. Her register IMO for this was a bit too low, but she was NOT screaming, at least not IMO. (Shut up, Simon!
). It had a very cool, contemporary feel to it and as a bonus -- FINALLY I understood the lyrics!! This is one of those songs where I've never been able to figure out ONE word that was being sung, and at least LaKisha, unlike the Bee Gees, sang this at NORMAL SPEED so I could figure out the lyrics!! A 30-year mystery has been solved for me!!
(Actually, AI is a great show for this type of thing; most contestants have a tendency to ENUNCIATE better than most recording artists, so often a misunderstood lyric has been cleared up for me on this show.)
3. Melinda -- This would have been 2nd, only -- two words -- LaToya London. This is one of my favorite Bee Gees songs, and the LAST time I heard it was when LaToya did it during Season 3; her performance of that IMHO was one of that season's highlights and one of my all-time favorite AI renditions. And strangely, I just HAD A FEELING Melinda was gonna pick this one. Well -- Mindy Doo (as she is known in some circles apparently) was good, but I like LaToya's version much better. Much more straightforward, Melinda's was kind of all over the place in the vocal range category.
4. Blake -- I think the best way to sum this one up is: ???????????????????????????????????????
It was cool, I geuss, but I haven't the slightest idea whether I liked it or not. I liked the beatboxing at the end of "dancin, yeaaaah" but he should have left the rest of it out, and his pitch was all over the place. Sometimes the falsetto (a vocal concept I have only limited, if that, fondness for to start with) was fine, sometimes it could perm hair. I had to agree with Randy, it was like something in a weird European nightclub, and Blake already radiates a bit much "Now Is The Time On Sprockets Ven Ve Dance" as it is. I've come to the conclusion that he may just be a little avant-garde -- if that's the right word -- for "American Idol." But I do admire his ability to think outside the box, at least, even if at times the box needs to be closed and shut with a whole roll of strapping tape.....
ROUND TWO
1. Jordin -- LOVED IT!! JORDIN IS BACK, BABY!!
Tho I do not entirely disagree with Simon that it was a bit on the "pageant" side. What killed me was Barry Gibb saying how different her take on it was from Streisand's. Um -- can you honestly expect ANYONE to be on THAT level?? Come on here.
2. LaKisha -- Nice, simple, straightforward, and quite lovely. I actually LIKED the fact that she "hoarsed out" at the very end; I think it made a much nicer end than dragging the note out for 25 seconds. And given the problem LaKisha tends to have with ending the song properly, I think it worked in her favor.
3. Blake -- I agree that with a little work, you could release this at the present time and it would probably do pretty well. Not spectacular, but pretty good; at least I wasn't sitting there thinking, QUIT IT!!! Weird song, tho.
4. Melinda -- Getting past the fact -- and it ain't easy -- that I ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY HATE THAT SONG WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING, I still have to say that this is the first performance by Melinda that I officially ABSOLUTELY HATED. Turning a slow song into some type of Metropolitan Opera Audition, turning up the "aria" thing NEVER wins points with me. WAY too much going on here (which was part of the problem I had with her first song, too). It was just, for me, "meh."
Much as it pains me to say it, because I really DO like him, I think it's time to say, Blake, you're cute and quirky and talented, but you gotta go because you are actually now really starting to get on my nerves. And I believe I may be speaking for many others as well.:disapp:
:agree: I so agree. It seems people are more interested in "tricks" than just good singing anymore. I remember when (not that long ago) a man who could hold a solid even note without any vibrato was understood for it being more difficult, but people want tricks, so we get all that "caterwauling" going on now days.
Ya know I luv ya!
, like Jasmine did in Season 3 and Nikki in Season 1 at this same point, so maybe we won't have a weird result at this point after all. (Tho given the 4 remaining, no matter who gets the boot, a fair percentage of people are gonna think it's a "weird result", so.....
