Well, this was certainly not one of AI’s more memorable nights, I think in part due to the theme. Now don’t get me wrong – I have been a huge fan of the incomparable Ms. Parton since I was 10 years old; however, out of all the AI Top 9’s over the years, I think this particular group was for the most part probably the one least suited for her music.
My rankings:
1. Syesha – Dolly hit it on the head when she said that Syesha hit the best balance between her understated original and Whitney Houston’s [IMHO TOTALLY OVERDONE, TOTALLY OVERBLOWN] remake. It was a predictable choice for her, but she was excellent!! She is really starting to hit her stride. However – WHAT is WITH the HAIR???
2. Carly – Carly’s back, baby!! As a general rule, I take issue with singers who take mid-paced or fast songs and slow them down to "Jazz Lounge" speed, but in this case it was good to see a more mellow side of Carly and I thought she did a really nice job.
3. David C – Another really good interpretation from the talented Mr. Cook. The problem I had with it was that I couldn’t understand the words a lot of the time; a little too much "mush mouth" in spots.
4. Jason – An excellent song choice, and a breakthrough of sorts for him, since he really let it rip in spots. Pretty darn good overall.
5. Ramiele – Good song choice, actually, and tho this was no barn-burner, I think it was by far the best she’s done and was actually rather charming. She did seem to be drowned out in spots by the backup singers.
6. Brooke – Out of all the songs Dolly has written, I can think of at least a dozen others that would have been a much better choice for her. I didn’t really feel she connected with this one, and connecting to her song is usually her strong suit. Overall – meh. She’s been kind of off the last couple of weeks for me; I hope she regains her form soon.
7. Kristy Lee – If anyone should have hit it out of the park tonight, it should have been her. So why on earth was this so dull??? I had a feeling she’d choose this song, but I expected it to be a lot better. Her main flaw seems to be that she doesn’t know how to ARRANGE anything; she seems to suck most of the life out of just about everything she sings.
8. David A – To me, EVERY SINGLE SONG that he chooses to sing SOUNDS EXACTLY ALIKE. Yeah, he’s got a voice, but I flat out just don’t like his "style", if you care to call it that. Broadway star? Absolutely. Pop singer? Absolutely NOT. I found this boring and sappy in addition to the fact that I do not really buying HIM singing about "back home in the Smokies".
9. Michael – I am so tired of listening to him channel other people; I thought after last week maybe we could actually hear HIM sing, as opposed to imitating other people – now this week we’re back to THAT again; I think this time he was trying to do Joe Cocker. Beyond that, he oversang the song and totally butchered one of my favorite Dolly Parton songs; WORST PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON BY ANYONE, IMHO. Oh, it was DEFINITELY "all wrong" – and NO "all right" about it….. [Obviously I’m in a minority here, but that wouldn’t be the first time.]
My rankings:
1. Syesha – Dolly hit it on the head when she said that Syesha hit the best balance between her understated original and Whitney Houston’s [IMHO TOTALLY OVERDONE, TOTALLY OVERBLOWN] remake. It was a predictable choice for her, but she was excellent!! She is really starting to hit her stride. However – WHAT is WITH the HAIR???
2. Carly – Carly’s back, baby!! As a general rule, I take issue with singers who take mid-paced or fast songs and slow them down to "Jazz Lounge" speed, but in this case it was good to see a more mellow side of Carly and I thought she did a really nice job.
3. David C – Another really good interpretation from the talented Mr. Cook. The problem I had with it was that I couldn’t understand the words a lot of the time; a little too much "mush mouth" in spots.
4. Jason – An excellent song choice, and a breakthrough of sorts for him, since he really let it rip in spots. Pretty darn good overall.
5. Ramiele – Good song choice, actually, and tho this was no barn-burner, I think it was by far the best she’s done and was actually rather charming. She did seem to be drowned out in spots by the backup singers.
6. Brooke – Out of all the songs Dolly has written, I can think of at least a dozen others that would have been a much better choice for her. I didn’t really feel she connected with this one, and connecting to her song is usually her strong suit. Overall – meh. She’s been kind of off the last couple of weeks for me; I hope she regains her form soon.
7. Kristy Lee – If anyone should have hit it out of the park tonight, it should have been her. So why on earth was this so dull??? I had a feeling she’d choose this song, but I expected it to be a lot better. Her main flaw seems to be that she doesn’t know how to ARRANGE anything; she seems to suck most of the life out of just about everything she sings.
8. David A – To me, EVERY SINGLE SONG that he chooses to sing SOUNDS EXACTLY ALIKE. Yeah, he’s got a voice, but I flat out just don’t like his "style", if you care to call it that. Broadway star? Absolutely. Pop singer? Absolutely NOT. I found this boring and sappy in addition to the fact that I do not really buying HIM singing about "back home in the Smokies".
9. Michael – I am so tired of listening to him channel other people; I thought after last week maybe we could actually hear HIM sing, as opposed to imitating other people – now this week we’re back to THAT again; I think this time he was trying to do Joe Cocker. Beyond that, he oversang the song and totally butchered one of my favorite Dolly Parton songs; WORST PERFORMANCE OF THE SEASON BY ANYONE, IMHO. Oh, it was DEFINITELY "all wrong" – and NO "all right" about it….. [Obviously I’m in a minority here, but that wouldn’t be the first time.]
) so I missed it...
my knees went weak!
