THE RESULTS
Re Jennifer Hudson getting the next to lowest number of votes, I'll borrow a phrase from "A Mighty Wind": Wha' happen?!
ITA with Leah getting the boot. While agree with Rgal that the voice is there, she's just too young for this competition. I think she needs to be about 21-22 to handle the pressure of both AI and living up to family expectations. They said she was crying backstage before she went on. Not good. I can see her doing well eventually--though, and I hate to say this--I think she needs to get away from her mother's influence for a good long while. Her mother's got a good career in Europe but she's also got a pretty flimsy voice. I think Leah probably has the potential to be better than her mother and maybe... Well, don't want to get all psychobabbly. She's pretty now and will probably mature into a real beauty, and the quality of her voice is lovely. On Tuesday she was just so out of tune the whole song. A real howler. Wednesday she was much better, but still had trouble.
But the SHOCK was Jennifer Hudson! This just proves to me that much of the audience either can't hear or doesn't care what these people sound like. She didn't belong in the bottom three much less second to last. I'm glad Randy Jackson said, "I just don't get it" and that he thought she had one of the strongest performances of the night, which IMO, she did. I think Paula and Simon really skanked out by saying they "weren't surprised." What was with Paula's "You didn't really connect with the audience" and "Poor song choice" crap? "Baby, I Love You" a poor song choice for soul night? And with that performance?
And I think we're starting to see the cracks in Simon's ability to judge singing. When A&E did his "Biography" he was talking about Paula Abdul and said that what she brought as a judge was her ability to hear technical things such as pitch, which he can't do. WHAT?! You're a friggin' record producer and you can't hear if someone is on or off key? Okay, I'm sure he can hear if someone is way off, but if you're making record deals potentially worth multi millions of dollars and you can't hear pitch then all I can say is I wouldn't want you producing the records of anybody I know. At the time I thought he was working his own PR as "magic man"; you know, just goes by his gut reaction, which can't be taught and is so great, he picks winners 90% of the time. On Tuesday night, I thought his "I'm hearing a lot of oversinging" comment was warranted for about five people up to and including Jennifer, but it was understandable for the people who could really "belt" on their first night of real competition plus the fact it was "soul night." On Tuesday Simon made it sound like it was a trend he was hearing, but on Wednesday when Jennifer almost got booted off, he made it sound like it was just her. Even if you can't stand her style, her looks, her personality, or whatever, there is simply NO WAY Jennifer deserved to be in the bottom two. No way. You can criticize her performance, but Amy (aaaa-oooooooh! on those high notes) over Jennifer? Camille "zero power" over Jennifer? Any of the men over Jennifer? I say no way.
The only thing that doesn't surprise me about it is that we've seen in the last two seasons how people get caught up in the singers' personalities--including the judges, especially Paula. I would not have said Simon a year ago, although he clearly understands the importance of personality. And I would have said Randy a year ago, although maybe the weight loss cleared up his head because I thought his Tuesday night assessments were dead-on. The one thing Simon did say that I thought was quite valid was how different performances sound on TV vs. from the "in the lap" position of the judges. I have no doubt Simon is conniving, but I disagree with Rgal about the black vote thing only because I don't think Simon thinks about this stuff ahead of time. I think he says whatever strikes him at the moment. What I do think is that if he doesn't like somebody, no matter what the reason, he'll sabotage his own investment to prove to himself he was right. I think pride is more important to him at this point than money only because the record deals are not the major source of his income. Being Simon is the major source. I think it just might be that he doesn't like Jennifer.
Okay, everybody else:
--LaToya, "Ain't Nobody": She sure came bounding out of the gates! Great voice, great presence, didn't show much subtlety of phrasing, but like I said, these people are anxious to show the audience (not the judges) what they can do. When I looked back on it, the performance didn't seem to have the heart I remember from the first time I saw her, but that could be pure first night tightness. Speaking of "not like for no reason," LaToya is the spittin' image (or spit and image, take your choice) of a white girl I worked with about 20 years ago, though LaToya is prettier. This girl went around spouting about being "born again" while she was schtupping the married VP of the company, was a complete manipulative back stabber, and racist and stupid as the day is long to boot. (Wish I still knew her just so I could call her up and tell her that she looks EXACTLY like a black person.) Anyway, every time I see LaToya I have to concentrate on not associating her with the skanky girl. The point is, I can see how something that has absolutely nothing to do with the individual's real personality or singing ability could sway you, but as a judge and producer I think it's bad news if Simon has that problem. And I mean either way, because I think there are some people who are in the top 12 (now top 11) only because one or more of the judges liked their personalities.
--Amy, "You Make Me Feel Brand New": As I said, a real dog howl response to those notes in her upper register. Man, she sounded like she was breaking dishes. However, that said, it could be nerves and could be correctable. She's got to get past it though. And when are people going to realize how totally OVER Day-Glo hair is?
--Matt, "Hard to Handle": Not interested. And the "Caddyshack" golf hat just made things worse. I see him getting personality votes for a while and then gone. Would have had four or five other women from the Q rounds way ahead of him.
--Camille "Son of a Preacher Man": Again, not interested. Pretty girl, pretty voice, throw a stick in LA or NY and you'll hit 1000 of them.
--JP Lewis "Drift Away": I simply cannot stand to watch this guy. Nothing against short performers, especially since I'm only 5'2 myself, but what I think when I watch JPL is "Drunken Dancin' Hobbit Frat Boy." HOWEVER, I did my "close your eyes and just listen" test and the guy indeed has a GREAT voice and uses it well. I confess to being guilty of "lookism" in his case, though I think I could like him if he didn't dress like goof-ball and didn't dance again ever, anytime, anywhere. But even if he did spiff up and not dance like a fool, I think that overall--I mean total package--he's more short term novelty than sustained career--EXCEPT strictly as a vocalist. I mean, this guy could make big bucks singing commercials and fill-in leads on records. But as a solo live performer, I don't see it.
--Fantasia "Signed Sealed Delivered": I've been resisting Fantasia, but even with the "c'mon y'all" and her sibilant "S," she got me. I didn't even care that she did a "c'mon y'all" because I felt she would genuinely say that--just like, "C'mon y'all! Getchyo butt over here! Ah'm sangin'!" Even wonderfully gifted, totally wrongly voted off Tamyra Grey from AI-1 could not do a sincere "c'mon y'all." But Fantasia has the natural sass to do it. I just kept thinking, "She is the real deal"-- long before Simon called her "the real thing." I completely acknowledge that her quirks and individuality will alienate some, maybe many, but she reminds me of performers like Mick Jagger and Tina Turner (actually, I think she may be Mick and Tina's love child
). She's something that comes up out of the culture and either the culture will either embrace her or it won't. I'm curious to hear her do something out of her style, which I think the best performers can do. Mick, Tina, and even Kurt Cobain can/could sing a great ballad, unplugged or even a cappella. But for now, she's one of my favorites.
--George "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay": To me, George is the Ruben Studdard of this year's competition, and I don't mean that as a compliment, though Ruben has a better or at least more interesting voice than George. I would love to have George as a neighbor; I would love to have George as one of my childrens' teachers (if I had kids); I would love...you get the idea. But as a professional singer, nuh-uh. His personality is 90% of the reason he's there. As an appealing singer/performer, I do not get George. I was not impressed by Ruben's singing, but at least with him I could see the appeal. With George, the whole wide-eyed, kid-in-a-candy-store thing just irks me, though I have no doubt it's sincere, that that's who he really is. But try listening to him with your eyes closed and ask yourself, "Would I pay any amount of money to buy a record by this guy? If this sound came on the radio, would I pay attention? Would I even keep the radio on?" For me the answer is always no.
--Jennifer "Baby, I Love You": Already covered.
--John Stevens "Say Goodbye": A lot of comparisons between JS and Clay because they seem to both be sticking to "who they are" and staying within one style. I don't disagree with that. But I think the comparison ends there, at least with what I've seen so far. Last week I complimented JS for NOT using vocal gymnastics to try to impress people, but this week I felt he at least needed to show SOME range. The difference I see between JS and Clay is that while Clay stuck to who he was as a person and had difficulty getting out of a certain style, when he was forced to sing soft and low, as he had to with his "pick a song out of a hat" choice, "Vincent," there was still power and a sense of "life lived" in his performance. Also, Clay was smart enough to let the image people mess with his hair, his glasses, and the clothes--all of which you can't see on a record anyway. And howdy doody (which we all get), look at and listen to Clay today! I think the biggest factor with JS is his age. Wasn't Clay something like 23 when he did AI? JS is 16, right? Huge difference in maturity there. I think JS may be another one who is just too young for AI right now. However, I would absolutely love it if he surprised me.
******BEFORE I FORGET: Why did Seacrest ask Clay if he was getting along with Kelly Clarkson on tour and put that little spin on "Miss Independence"? Do Kelly and Clay have "issues"? Any good dirt there
?*********
--Leah: Already covered.
--Jasmine: This girl is great. She's got the voice, the looks, and above almost everyone else, great communication. When they did her little biography and showed her doing hula classes, I wondered if the emphasis on heart and meaning in good hula training would translate to her voice. I don't know if her hula dancing has anything to do with it, but she's one of the few singers out of all three seasons who has been able to tell a story with her singing (a) ever and (b) especially the first week. I watched Hugh Jackman on "Inside the Actor's Studio" last week, in which he talked about the process for the 1998 London Royal Theatre's revival of "Oklahoma!" When I saw it on PBS, I was hugely impressed by the way the songs were delivered and now I know why. Jackman said director Trevor Nunn made the cast do every song as dialogue until they understood the lyrics completely apart from the music. (I'm sure many good voice teachers use this technique, but apparently not enough of them.) He did a demonstration using the dialogue technique from "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning!" and as Jackman said (paraphrasing), "If a line is repeated, you have to come up with a reason to repeat it." As he went along I thought, "They should make every contestant on AI do this." He also said what I'm sure great vocal teachers say, which is how singing is as much acting as it is vocals. I was also listening to Judy Garland recently and thought the same thing. She was singing "Embraceable You," which does not use any of the big belty vocals she's known for, and you could hear why she could transfix 20,000 people just sitting on a stool in the corner of a stage. I digress (surprise) but that's what separates Jasmine, Fantasia, and to a lesser extent, LaToya for me, or at least it did this week (thought LaToya was better last time I heard her, but understand this is the first "real" week). Right now--and I know a lot can change in the ensuing weeks--I'd love to see it come down to Jasmine and Fantasia because I think they're equally good but in virtually opposite ways.
--Diana: Great, big, powerful voice from a very confident 16-year-old girl that communicates no life experience whatsoever. On the one hand, I enjoy hearing her enjoy how good her own voice is without seeming arrogant and I enjoy, for the time being, her naivete that that's good enough. OTOH, I think that after the nonsingers are eliminated, she's going to be hit with the hard reality that she's not a 16-year-old singer the way Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand were, and that she can't hold people's interest (although she might with this AI audience) with nothing but fireworks. Also, I can't really fault her for communicating like a 16-year-old when she is 16. I guess I just hope she saw the episode of "Inside the Actor's Studio" with Hugh Jackman:lol: (BTW, if anybody reading this is in the NY area and can get tix to see "The Boy from OZ," which is Jackman's almost one-man show as Peter Allen, go, go, go! I generally hate musicals, but this is more like a play about an amazing singer and performer in which Jackman is phenomenal--and I mean once-in-a-lifetime phenomenal.)
That's it. My top three are Fantasia and Jasmine (tie) and LaToya. If any of the guys make it to the final two, I'm shooting my TV set Elvis-style--albeit with a squirt gun.
Rgirl
Twinnie--Tell me why you like George since, as you can see, I don't.
I looooove her suit!! I love Fantaysia a lot ("c'mon y'all"s excepted), the only thing I would say about this performance is that I felt the arrangement was "up" the whole time, instead of allowing any sort of build. Fantaysia's voice is so unusual that I think more variation in the song would have been a little better choice than belting it out the whole time.
). So if anything that's what Ryan was referring to. Clay and Kelly have a good relationship.
Thanks Toni. Duh on me!
