Thursday, March 10, 2011

American Idol - we get the show underway with the Top 13

Last night, we finally got the AI machine rolling as the top 13 sang for their future careers. The singers were going to sing songs of their favorite singers. With that we got some interesting insight into some of the singers tonight. There was no messing around as we got right to the contestants singing!

Lauren went first which made me happy that I didn't have to wait for a favorite.She did Shania Twain's "Any man of mine" and while it was solid, it was just too safe. She didn't really challenge herself. She seemed confused and hurt by the judges critique which wasn't harsh at all. This is the problem with the young singers, they lack the experience to know exactly where to go with a song and they aren't used to rejection & criticism. I hope Lauren gets it together soon.

Casey went next and did Joe Cocker's "I get by with a little help from my friends". Great song choice for him since I get that Joe Cokcer vibe from him when he performs. He employed a smart use of the choir for the song. Performing experience counts for a lot at this point in the show.

Ashthon did Diana Ross' "When you tell me that you love me". She looked great, she looked the part of Diana Ross. She sounded good but her voice is on the thin side and it showed in some points, a bit of a safe song choice. I agree with Jen that she should've picked a better known Diana Ross song.

Paul did Ryan Adams' "Come pick me up". I really enjoy his 70s performing style, he has a cool, having fun on stage and having fun with the music vibe. Again, the performing experience shows. He started slow but his vocals were good.

Pia took on Celine Dion's "All by myself" which was impressive in and of itself. She looked great and sang great. She was the standout of the night once again. She has a great career ahead of her.

James did Paul McCartney's "Maybe I'm amazed". Surprising influence. He was good but for some reason I expected more from him with the song, he was very solid nonetheless.

Haley surprised me as well, she did Leann Rimes' "Blue". It was a solid vocal performance but not comparable to the original.

Jacob did R. Kelly's "I believe I can fly". I was very excited by the great song choice. While he hit some amazing notes, he had a real pitchy moment in the transition from the verse to the chorus. That was a product of the song being shortened due to the show format but the band could've come up with something better than that transition that he obviously wasn't feeling.

Thia surprised me with her influence as well. She did Michael Jackson's "Smile". I'm still not used to the idea that Michael is no longer with us but am thankful that he left such wonderful music behind. She also had a bad transition and I also had a problem with the song arrangement of this song. The judges also felt the same, the jazzed up version of the song was just not necessary at all. The beginning was good till the jazz music started, turned her performance from good to just ok. I hope the youngsters on the show are more vocal with what they want to do and are comfortable with than being pushed to do things that may not work. They have to learn to trust their instincts.

Stefano did Stevie Wonder's "Lately". He showed very good vocals. He showed why he deserved to be there.

Karen did Selena's "I could fall in love". This shouldn't be a very hard song for Karen to do but she stumbled all over it. It was not very good, she didn't do much with the song.

Scotty did Garth Brooks' "The River". Great song and good song choice by Scotty. He was solid but some of the notes seemed too big for his range.

Naima ended the show with Rihanna's "Umbrella". I was surprised by Naima's influence since Rihanna hasn't been around that long and considering everything else that Naima has sung on the show. Her performance was very different for Idol, she gave us a performance complete with dance moves and rap. Had a real nice transition from the rap section to the singing part. I don't know how much that performance or song choice tells us about Naima the artist though. She's given us a lot of different looks and sounds and hasn't painted a clear enough picture to let us know who she wants to be as an artist. I hope she figures this out soon because she has a great image but has to get everything else to catch up to it.

I see the bottom 2 as a battle of the wildcards with Ashthon and Naima. I see Naima going home tonight. :(

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