American Idol, S5, Top 24 - Girls
Feb. 22nd, 2006 05:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
beandelphikiOkay, so coming out of the American Idol-fan closet here somewhat, this is my synopsis of how the girls did last night.
(For anyone vaguely following: the judges picked the Top 24, it's down to America voting now. Last night, the 12 girls sang their first songs. Two are getting booted off Thursday, along with two of the 12 boys singing tonight, so then it'll be down to the Top 20.)
I did my best to attribute these songs correctly, but I'm not completely sure they're accurate.
01. Mandisa - "Never" (Heart) Mandisa, interestingly enough, started out the night with one of the top performances. She has a very mature, sexy voice as well as fantastic control over it. She looks and sounds like a very seasoned performer, not like she's competing on Idol, which is a plus. The rock song was a slightly daring choice, and while she didn't exactly blow the roof off, she was still fantastic. Her outfit was great, and I love that she's not afraid to move around, like some bigger women would be; she got the audience up and dancing on the first song! She absolutely beautiful, and a shoe-in for Top 12. Although I did find the fire background they gave her distracting.
02. Kellie Pickler - "How Far" (Martina McBride) Um. Well, a lot of people would have really paled in comparison after Mandisa, but this really was not the greatest at all. I could barely tell what the words were, and noticed that I spaced in and and out of her performance. It had some sweet notes, but mostly it was blah. It was too low and soft - I want to hear some PIPES! I spent most of her performance thinking (when I was paying attention, that is), "Put some power behind it, honey," and "White girls can't sing." Honestly, I'm still in the camp that thinks Pickler is a pretty sweet and humble girl, and I think she'll be around a couple more weeks. But she's not the best singer by a long shot, and too white-bread Carrie Underwood 2.0 (Someone referred to her as the "Underworld: Evolution" to Carrie's "Underworld," and I think that's pretty accurate.)
03. Becky O'Donohue - "Because the Night" (Patti Smith) Others have said that we have a glut of "pretty girls" in the Top 24 this year. It's true, and this is one who got through on the looks part of the package more than the singing. I still liked her doing "Because the Night" somewhat because I got all nostalgic for the 80s (well, it SOUNDS like a song from the 80s!), but she just got lucky with that one with me...I've heard her sing, and I don't think she's got anything to bring. Sorry, Becky.
04. Ayla Brown - "Reflection" (Christina Aguilera) Okay, Ayla surprised me. I'm one of the ones who think this goddamn basketball-star-singer-scholar-kid-of-newscaster-and-senator white chick needs to choke and die on her fucking silver spoon. Virtually everyone hated her, "I've faced hardships trying to get respect from the boys playing football!" speech. Simon Cowell nailed it when he told her in her audition that she was "really robotic" - there's a quality to her that's both plastic and desperate. I get the sense that this is a girl who puts the perfect Stepford face on while secretly believing that she's entitled to everything; I also suspect that when she gets booted, she'll have the potential to be a bitch of unparalleled magnitude if it gets away from her. I hated that her "hardships" song was not so much Christina's version, but the version from MULAN - that says something about her understanding of hardships, nu?
But. BUT. The singing was okay. I never liked her, but I was surprised that she managed to do pretty well with one of my favorite songs. People are saying she's not Christina, and that's true...but I've always believed that Christina oversings, and I'd like to hear "Reflections" done more simply. I give it a passing mark, anyway.
05. Paris Bennett - "Midnight Train to Georgia" (Gladys Knight) OH MY FUCKING GOD, PARIS! Paris Bennett is absolutely IT. Absolutely it. Besides Mandisa, THE most relaxed and confident performer of the night. She's 17, and she looks like a world pro. Her hair was fantastic, her clothing was age appropriate (and I, for one, don't think that's BAD), the dancing was so lovable and had such magical energy, the faces she was pulling were the cutest ever and had such attitude. She was AMAZING. I collapsed after her performance. I never even danced in my seat through that one because I was staring spellbound at the screen with my jaw hanging. Practically flawless. This girl should win, and I've thought so since the auditions in Greensboro.
What didn't work...well, I think she might have picked a song that showed off her voice a bit more. Of course, she was dancing like mad, and the song worked with that. Next week, I'd like to see her really blast something, though. I didn't worry about not seeing a lot of vocals this time though, because I've heard her sing enough to know she's IT. She's got something about her that is Aretha-like. In a few years, if she keeps performing, she has that queen potential.
06. Stevie Scott - "To Where You Are" (Josh Groban) Oh, dear. Her vocals were going to float everyone away on a cloud. Not, not, NOT the thing to do with Groban. Oh, man.
This upsets me, because when I heard her sing in Hell Week, I was actually one of the few who was impressed. I thought she could really sing, rather than shout at the mike. Stevie, you blew this one! She's likely going home...she must know this because she was begging on camera for another chance.
07. Brenna Gethers - "Sunshine of My Life" (Stevie Wonder) Two bad ones in a row. The song wasn't memorable in the slightest, and somewhat tuneless at points. Also, arguing with Simon...girl doesn't know when to shut up and take her punishment. And a lot of people hate her incessant posing for the camera. ("You never know when America's watching!")
By her life story, she's been bred to be a fighter at the slightest challenge, but it's that which is going to end her Idol career, because people don't like it. (And Paula encouraging her to backtalk Simon! Paula, Brenna can take care of herself - stop rushing to the singers' rescue.) I actually think she's a beautiful girl, and I can see she's got (as she tried to display last night, with an appeal to America that she has a "softer side") a real vulnerability that she is trying WAY TOO HARD to hide the rest of the time.
I think she'll turn out to be a crier when she's booted...and she'll be booted all right. If not this week, then probably the next. It just wasn't a good performance.
(The whole thing was best for Simon's comment, "You're like a clawing kitten...that's just had GLOVES put on it's paws." *hold up hands in a half-curled position in mid-air* Randy: "And a coat!" Simon: "And a little HAT!")
08. Heather Cox - "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (Diana Ross) MFP - Most Forgettable Player. This was AWFUL. I was like, "What? Did she sing?" This is a Diana Ross/Babs song, and she not only didn't do it justice, but I didn't notice she was making noise! She had the same trouble Kellie had with no power in the pipes, but worse.
Oh, but Paula said she's beautiful. Honey, if all you get out of Paula is, "Well, you're pretty!" you aren't going too much farther in this competition. Considering you're in the Top 24, that's only slightly less pathetic than when Paula told some kid that he had the right kind of voice to do Kermit the Frog - and that was her COMPLIMENT for him.
09. Melissa McGhee - "When the Lights Go Down" (Faith Hill) I liked this. I like her being lower, more raspy, the sex-voice. I think it was a good choice for her voice, and while she had some rough spots, I'd really like to see more from her. She had NO air time, so we basically don't know who she is.
10. Lisa Tucker - "I am Changing" (Jennifer Holliday) Several have criticised Lisa's take on this song, saying that at 16 she isn't old enough to do this one, and that her singing was robotic. I have to totally disagree - it was not the slightest robotic. She has, as the judges said, serious poise, and she pulled off that song with maturity. That was some major emoting, for those actually watching her EYES. It's not an age thing people, as anyone who saw Melissa O'Neal on last season's Canadian Idol can testify.
However. Rough! Too sharp in some of her runs. I like that she started out with a standing mike...considering that put the onus on her to convey the song with little motion to cover it up if the effort failed, I think it was a bolder move, actually. Still powerful. She's not Paris's Aretha, but she's a future Mariah, maybe. In a few years, she'll be wowing the crowds. Shoe-in for Top 12, along with Mandisa and Paris.
11. Kinnik Sky - "Get Here" (Oleta Adams) To start with, beautiful name. Sky, who wouldn't like to be called Sky? (If you wouldn't, shush. I'm just saying it's pretty.) I thought this might actually be one of the semi-forgettable performances. In retrospect, looking back over the night, I give it more credit than I originally did. SHE, for one, has the pipes, but I think she uses them too much, and needs to scale back just a bit and focus on the song more than the notes. Still, I don't think she deserved the verbal beating the judges gave her. At a certain point, I was thinking at Simon, "OKAY ALREADY!" and I don't usually.
I like her, though, for her ability to force a smile even when it looked like she was almost in tears, and tell the judges that she was willing to learn, "Even from the babies," after they told her that the kids kicked her ass. And I also liked that when Ryan Seacrest said to her, "When Randy Jackson said your performance was a 6 out of 10, what was going through your mind?" and her response was, "C'mon, at least a 6.5!"
(What was UP with Brenna cringing visibly in the background all the way through Kinnik's performance? Um, sweetie, America's watching RIGHT NOW.)
12. Katharine McPhee - "Since I Fell for You" (Buddy Johnson/Nina Simone) Everyone raved and raved over this performance, said she's the next Idol, etc. You know what? The day after, I can't remember it at all. I have no mental movie or sound of her singing in my head. I think naming her Idol would be a mistake. She has a VERY pretty voice, I agree, and I like her whole cute personality and so on. But I was seriously annoyed when Simon told her she was the best of the night. Um, no. That was Paris. Or Mandisa or Lisa AT LEAST. Stupid white girls taking the spotlight!
Predictions and Ranking
Ranking for the night
1. Paris
2. Mandisa
3. Lisa
4. Katharine
5. Melissa
6. Ayla
7. Kinnik
8. Brenna
9. Becky
10. Stevie (higher than Kellie because I think she CAN sing, she just didn't)
11. Kellie
12. Heather
Two I'd like to see go
Kellie
Heather
Who I think will actually go
Stevie
Brenna
Boys tonight!
(For anyone vaguely following: the judges picked the Top 24, it's down to America voting now. Last night, the 12 girls sang their first songs. Two are getting booted off Thursday, along with two of the 12 boys singing tonight, so then it'll be down to the Top 20.)
I did my best to attribute these songs correctly, but I'm not completely sure they're accurate.
01. Mandisa - "Never" (Heart) Mandisa, interestingly enough, started out the night with one of the top performances. She has a very mature, sexy voice as well as fantastic control over it. She looks and sounds like a very seasoned performer, not like she's competing on Idol, which is a plus. The rock song was a slightly daring choice, and while she didn't exactly blow the roof off, she was still fantastic. Her outfit was great, and I love that she's not afraid to move around, like some bigger women would be; she got the audience up and dancing on the first song! She absolutely beautiful, and a shoe-in for Top 12. Although I did find the fire background they gave her distracting.
02. Kellie Pickler - "How Far" (Martina McBride) Um. Well, a lot of people would have really paled in comparison after Mandisa, but this really was not the greatest at all. I could barely tell what the words were, and noticed that I spaced in and and out of her performance. It had some sweet notes, but mostly it was blah. It was too low and soft - I want to hear some PIPES! I spent most of her performance thinking (when I was paying attention, that is), "Put some power behind it, honey," and "White girls can't sing." Honestly, I'm still in the camp that thinks Pickler is a pretty sweet and humble girl, and I think she'll be around a couple more weeks. But she's not the best singer by a long shot, and too white-bread Carrie Underwood 2.0 (Someone referred to her as the "Underworld: Evolution" to Carrie's "Underworld," and I think that's pretty accurate.)
03. Becky O'Donohue - "Because the Night" (Patti Smith) Others have said that we have a glut of "pretty girls" in the Top 24 this year. It's true, and this is one who got through on the looks part of the package more than the singing. I still liked her doing "Because the Night" somewhat because I got all nostalgic for the 80s (well, it SOUNDS like a song from the 80s!), but she just got lucky with that one with me...I've heard her sing, and I don't think she's got anything to bring. Sorry, Becky.
04. Ayla Brown - "Reflection" (Christina Aguilera) Okay, Ayla surprised me. I'm one of the ones who think this goddamn basketball-star-singer-scholar-kid-of-newscaster-and-senator white chick needs to choke and die on her fucking silver spoon. Virtually everyone hated her, "I've faced hardships trying to get respect from the boys playing football!" speech. Simon Cowell nailed it when he told her in her audition that she was "really robotic" - there's a quality to her that's both plastic and desperate. I get the sense that this is a girl who puts the perfect Stepford face on while secretly believing that she's entitled to everything; I also suspect that when she gets booted, she'll have the potential to be a bitch of unparalleled magnitude if it gets away from her. I hated that her "hardships" song was not so much Christina's version, but the version from MULAN - that says something about her understanding of hardships, nu?
But. BUT. The singing was okay. I never liked her, but I was surprised that she managed to do pretty well with one of my favorite songs. People are saying she's not Christina, and that's true...but I've always believed that Christina oversings, and I'd like to hear "Reflections" done more simply. I give it a passing mark, anyway.
05. Paris Bennett - "Midnight Train to Georgia" (Gladys Knight) OH MY FUCKING GOD, PARIS! Paris Bennett is absolutely IT. Absolutely it. Besides Mandisa, THE most relaxed and confident performer of the night. She's 17, and she looks like a world pro. Her hair was fantastic, her clothing was age appropriate (and I, for one, don't think that's BAD), the dancing was so lovable and had such magical energy, the faces she was pulling were the cutest ever and had such attitude. She was AMAZING. I collapsed after her performance. I never even danced in my seat through that one because I was staring spellbound at the screen with my jaw hanging. Practically flawless. This girl should win, and I've thought so since the auditions in Greensboro.
What didn't work...well, I think she might have picked a song that showed off her voice a bit more. Of course, she was dancing like mad, and the song worked with that. Next week, I'd like to see her really blast something, though. I didn't worry about not seeing a lot of vocals this time though, because I've heard her sing enough to know she's IT. She's got something about her that is Aretha-like. In a few years, if she keeps performing, she has that queen potential.
06. Stevie Scott - "To Where You Are" (Josh Groban) Oh, dear. Her vocals were going to float everyone away on a cloud. Not, not, NOT the thing to do with Groban. Oh, man.
This upsets me, because when I heard her sing in Hell Week, I was actually one of the few who was impressed. I thought she could really sing, rather than shout at the mike. Stevie, you blew this one! She's likely going home...she must know this because she was begging on camera for another chance.
07. Brenna Gethers - "Sunshine of My Life" (Stevie Wonder) Two bad ones in a row. The song wasn't memorable in the slightest, and somewhat tuneless at points. Also, arguing with Simon...girl doesn't know when to shut up and take her punishment. And a lot of people hate her incessant posing for the camera. ("You never know when America's watching!")
By her life story, she's been bred to be a fighter at the slightest challenge, but it's that which is going to end her Idol career, because people don't like it. (And Paula encouraging her to backtalk Simon! Paula, Brenna can take care of herself - stop rushing to the singers' rescue.) I actually think she's a beautiful girl, and I can see she's got (as she tried to display last night, with an appeal to America that she has a "softer side") a real vulnerability that she is trying WAY TOO HARD to hide the rest of the time.
I think she'll turn out to be a crier when she's booted...and she'll be booted all right. If not this week, then probably the next. It just wasn't a good performance.
(The whole thing was best for Simon's comment, "You're like a clawing kitten...that's just had GLOVES put on it's paws." *hold up hands in a half-curled position in mid-air* Randy: "And a coat!" Simon: "And a little HAT!")
08. Heather Cox - "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" (Diana Ross) MFP - Most Forgettable Player. This was AWFUL. I was like, "What? Did she sing?" This is a Diana Ross/Babs song, and she not only didn't do it justice, but I didn't notice she was making noise! She had the same trouble Kellie had with no power in the pipes, but worse.
Oh, but Paula said she's beautiful. Honey, if all you get out of Paula is, "Well, you're pretty!" you aren't going too much farther in this competition. Considering you're in the Top 24, that's only slightly less pathetic than when Paula told some kid that he had the right kind of voice to do Kermit the Frog - and that was her COMPLIMENT for him.
09. Melissa McGhee - "When the Lights Go Down" (Faith Hill) I liked this. I like her being lower, more raspy, the sex-voice. I think it was a good choice for her voice, and while she had some rough spots, I'd really like to see more from her. She had NO air time, so we basically don't know who she is.
10. Lisa Tucker - "I am Changing" (Jennifer Holliday) Several have criticised Lisa's take on this song, saying that at 16 she isn't old enough to do this one, and that her singing was robotic. I have to totally disagree - it was not the slightest robotic. She has, as the judges said, serious poise, and she pulled off that song with maturity. That was some major emoting, for those actually watching her EYES. It's not an age thing people, as anyone who saw Melissa O'Neal on last season's Canadian Idol can testify.
However. Rough! Too sharp in some of her runs. I like that she started out with a standing mike...considering that put the onus on her to convey the song with little motion to cover it up if the effort failed, I think it was a bolder move, actually. Still powerful. She's not Paris's Aretha, but she's a future Mariah, maybe. In a few years, she'll be wowing the crowds. Shoe-in for Top 12, along with Mandisa and Paris.
11. Kinnik Sky - "Get Here" (Oleta Adams) To start with, beautiful name. Sky, who wouldn't like to be called Sky? (If you wouldn't, shush. I'm just saying it's pretty.) I thought this might actually be one of the semi-forgettable performances. In retrospect, looking back over the night, I give it more credit than I originally did. SHE, for one, has the pipes, but I think she uses them too much, and needs to scale back just a bit and focus on the song more than the notes. Still, I don't think she deserved the verbal beating the judges gave her. At a certain point, I was thinking at Simon, "OKAY ALREADY!" and I don't usually.
I like her, though, for her ability to force a smile even when it looked like she was almost in tears, and tell the judges that she was willing to learn, "Even from the babies," after they told her that the kids kicked her ass. And I also liked that when Ryan Seacrest said to her, "When Randy Jackson said your performance was a 6 out of 10, what was going through your mind?" and her response was, "C'mon, at least a 6.5!"
(What was UP with Brenna cringing visibly in the background all the way through Kinnik's performance? Um, sweetie, America's watching RIGHT NOW.)
12. Katharine McPhee - "Since I Fell for You" (Buddy Johnson/Nina Simone) Everyone raved and raved over this performance, said she's the next Idol, etc. You know what? The day after, I can't remember it at all. I have no mental movie or sound of her singing in my head. I think naming her Idol would be a mistake. She has a VERY pretty voice, I agree, and I like her whole cute personality and so on. But I was seriously annoyed when Simon told her she was the best of the night. Um, no. That was Paris. Or Mandisa or Lisa AT LEAST. Stupid white girls taking the spotlight!
Predictions and Ranking
Ranking for the night
1. Paris
2. Mandisa
3. Lisa
4. Katharine
5. Melissa
6. Ayla
7. Kinnik
8. Brenna
9. Becky
10. Stevie (higher than Kellie because I think she CAN sing, she just didn't)
11. Kellie
12. Heather
Two I'd like to see go
Kellie
Heather
Who I think will actually go
Stevie
Brenna
Boys tonight!
