Spoiler
Well, the gals outdid the guys overall, although none of the guys were anywhere as bad as the worst of the ladies tonight.
1-Ramiele "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" Ladies and gents, your dark horse candidate for season 7. This one could surprise everyone before all is said and done. Nice understated take on this song, while choosing just the right spots to bust it out. A
2-Alexandrea "Spinning Wheel" Tremendous control of her voice for someone so young, especially on the demanding middle section. Good stage presence. A-
3-Carly "The Shadow of Your Smile" Was she wearing long sleeves because she had the flu, or to cover the tats so as not to lose any more votes than the "past recording contract" controversy has already cost her?
Anyway, this was a solid if somewhat dull performance. The song choice didn't help the excitement level, but the technique was hard to quibble with. B+
4-Asia'H "Piece of My Heart" She has a really good voice and a lively stage presence. I don't think she has enough power in her voice to completely match the rigors of this song, though. She couldn't quite belt it out of the park. She gave it a ride to the warning track, however. She did have fun with it and there were no sour notes. B
5-Amanda "Baby Please Don't Go" First things first. Simon never heard of this song? He's gotta get away from the boy bands and put on some rock-n-roll. Hello? Van Morrison and Them? Every 60's blues rock band that ever walked into a recording studio?
As for the rockin' nurse, all I can say is GENUINE. The real deal. There have been a number of Idol contestants past and present that have been called "rockers" but few really fit the bill. Amanda fits. She was a bit off kilter on the "scat" singing part but wailed on the tune otherwise. I don't know how far she'll go 'cuz I can't hear her doing anything but rock, which will hurt her with those who don't like that style, but I'll enjoy her ride while it lasts. Don't tell my wife, but I'm in love. B
6-Syesha "Tobacco Road" I liked that she chose a rock song but I think she oversang it. She has a great voice, no doubt. but the vocal acrobatics were overbaked and sometimes pushed her off key and away from selling the lyrics. B
7-Brooke "Happy Together" A simple song that's not so simple to sing. Believe me, I know. She teetered on the verge of disaster on the verses but never fell off the cliff, and overall she did a decent job. She sure does light up the stage with her smile, and brought a nice energy to the song. Bottom line is I smiled myself watching her, so how bad could she have been? B-
8-Alaina "More Today Than Yesterday" Hey, how come Carrie Underwood is back on the show? No fair, she already won one season! Oh, right, this is Carrie-clone Alaina. And she has that same throaty yowl you hear in pretty much all of the teen pop-country princesses (LeAnn Rimes, Ms. Underwood, etc.) through the years. That yowl drives me insane.
This was not the worst performance of the night by far, but I hated it anyway. It was certainly not the slam dunk that the judges heard. Just like in the Underwood season, they lavish praise on the lil' darlin', while I sit watching and yelling at the screen in disbelief "what about all those sour notes? Didn't you HEAR them?" In the interest of full disclosure, I am trying to grade objectively, but I am actively rooting against this one..one Carrie in the biz is enough. B-
9-Kady "Groovy Kind Of love" Showed some good power in her voice and had some decent moments, but she ALSO sings from her throat too often, and her vocal runs were ill timed and not very impressive. She looked pissed when the criticism was flowing, shifting back and forth on her feet, pouting and looking like she was one more comment away from throwing a hissy fit. She was STILL looking that way at the end of the show. C+
10-Kristy Lee "Rescue Me" Adding further fuel to the opinion that all she can really sing well is "Amazing Grace". This was just blahhhhhhhhhhh C+
11-Joanne "I Say a Little Prayer" I like her and want her to do well, but this was not good. Nerves were very evident, as she had no breath control, causing her to pause in the middle of a line several times, and veer offkey even more. D+
12- Amy "Where the Boys Are" After the first line, my cat hissed at the screen. By the next line, I was hissing too. By the end of the song, my tv was threatening to shut itself off. William Hung hit more notes correctly a few years ago than Amy did tonight. This was cruel and unusual punishment. F
Amy's definitely gone and probably Joanne, as both Kady and Kristy Lee seem to have followings at least by what I'm seeing on the Internets..
1-Ramiele "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" Ladies and gents, your dark horse candidate for season 7. This one could surprise everyone before all is said and done. Nice understated take on this song, while choosing just the right spots to bust it out. A
2-Alexandrea "Spinning Wheel" Tremendous control of her voice for someone so young, especially on the demanding middle section. Good stage presence. A-
3-Carly "The Shadow of Your Smile" Was she wearing long sleeves because she had the flu, or to cover the tats so as not to lose any more votes than the "past recording contract" controversy has already cost her?
Anyway, this was a solid if somewhat dull performance. The song choice didn't help the excitement level, but the technique was hard to quibble with. B+
4-Asia'H "Piece of My Heart" She has a really good voice and a lively stage presence. I don't think she has enough power in her voice to completely match the rigors of this song, though. She couldn't quite belt it out of the park. She gave it a ride to the warning track, however. She did have fun with it and there were no sour notes. B
5-Amanda "Baby Please Don't Go" First things first. Simon never heard of this song? He's gotta get away from the boy bands and put on some rock-n-roll. Hello? Van Morrison and Them? Every 60's blues rock band that ever walked into a recording studio?
As for the rockin' nurse, all I can say is GENUINE. The real deal. There have been a number of Idol contestants past and present that have been called "rockers" but few really fit the bill. Amanda fits. She was a bit off kilter on the "scat" singing part but wailed on the tune otherwise. I don't know how far she'll go 'cuz I can't hear her doing anything but rock, which will hurt her with those who don't like that style, but I'll enjoy her ride while it lasts. Don't tell my wife, but I'm in love. B
6-Syesha "Tobacco Road" I liked that she chose a rock song but I think she oversang it. She has a great voice, no doubt. but the vocal acrobatics were overbaked and sometimes pushed her off key and away from selling the lyrics. B
7-Brooke "Happy Together" A simple song that's not so simple to sing. Believe me, I know. She teetered on the verge of disaster on the verses but never fell off the cliff, and overall she did a decent job. She sure does light up the stage with her smile, and brought a nice energy to the song. Bottom line is I smiled myself watching her, so how bad could she have been? B-
8-Alaina "More Today Than Yesterday" Hey, how come Carrie Underwood is back on the show? No fair, she already won one season! Oh, right, this is Carrie-clone Alaina. And she has that same throaty yowl you hear in pretty much all of the teen pop-country princesses (LeAnn Rimes, Ms. Underwood, etc.) through the years. That yowl drives me insane.
This was not the worst performance of the night by far, but I hated it anyway. It was certainly not the slam dunk that the judges heard. Just like in the Underwood season, they lavish praise on the lil' darlin', while I sit watching and yelling at the screen in disbelief "what about all those sour notes? Didn't you HEAR them?" In the interest of full disclosure, I am trying to grade objectively, but I am actively rooting against this one..one Carrie in the biz is enough. B-
9-Kady "Groovy Kind Of love" Showed some good power in her voice and had some decent moments, but she ALSO sings from her throat too often, and her vocal runs were ill timed and not very impressive. She looked pissed when the criticism was flowing, shifting back and forth on her feet, pouting and looking like she was one more comment away from throwing a hissy fit. She was STILL looking that way at the end of the show. C+
10-Kristy Lee "Rescue Me" Adding further fuel to the opinion that all she can really sing well is "Amazing Grace". This was just blahhhhhhhhhhh C+
11-Joanne "I Say a Little Prayer" I like her and want her to do well, but this was not good. Nerves were very evident, as she had no breath control, causing her to pause in the middle of a line several times, and veer offkey even more. D+
12- Amy "Where the Boys Are" After the first line, my cat hissed at the screen. By the next line, I was hissing too. By the end of the song, my tv was threatening to shut itself off. William Hung hit more notes correctly a few years ago than Amy did tonight. This was cruel and unusual punishment. F
Amy's definitely gone and probably Joanne, as both Kady and Kristy Lee seem to have followings at least by what I'm seeing on the Internets..
