AMERICAN IDOL
Final 40, first ten women
Jenny Beth- Cool song, great voice, pretty sloppy performance. Like a lot of these really young kids who haven’t been working with a vocal coach since she was three years old, she hit the big notes – but she missed a lot of the little ones. Most likely a goner, but she does have a terrific voice and a nice style.
Tenna- Her performance was a great example of why I generally dismiss the frilly, finessy singers in favor of the big voices on Idol. Big stages expose every tiny flaw these relatively inexperienced singers’ voices have anyway, and if they are weak it’s painfully obvious. When the pressure is on, there is no substitute for the heater, the big voice. The kids who don’t have one need to be perfect, under pressure they’ve never felt before.
Adriana- Safe song choice, either clever or short sighted depending on whether the judges care about degree of difficulty. It’s obvious to me that her voice isn’t capable of much more than what she gave us tonight, so this was a home run for Adriana, her best shot at surviving.
Brandy- She missed her usual quota of notes, and her overall manner just seemed short of the intensity that the song demanded. She should have gone up tempo.
Shubha- Oh God, what a horrible song choice…. She’s a lot better than this just about any other time, but tonight she was a mess.
Kamaria- She was sooooo nervous, and way too aware of herself; she kept cutting her own air off, and trying to fight through the vocal passages without any push behind her.
Kree- I thought her performance was tight, solid, one of the better ones so far, but at the same time she didn’t really sound like herself. This girl has such a sweet tone, such a soaring, angelic tone…. but tonight she sounded like Brandy, who’s tone doesn’t suck or anything, but it’s pedestrian. I’d say “thanks for dressing up” too, but that’s pretty much how she always dresses; like she’s on radio, not national TV.
Angela- Little Debbie Boone is cruising to the finals, and she was terrific tonight. I’m more and more impressed by how she maxes out her talents, and seems to add more each week.
Isabelle- Her voice soared, and she was really impressive other than one passage where she lost her mark a bit. None of the girls (other than Angela) have been anywhere near their potential tonight, so one little mistake shouldn’t kill her.
Amber- Consider my wagon hitched; Amber is going to be my girl this year. What a voice…… plus she did too many runs, wore too much lipstick, and she has no idea how good she really is. Perfect. Ok, now watch the judges dump her….
Quickly, before I watch the night’s results, safe to in danger:
- Safe
- Angela
- Amber
- Nervous
- Isabelle
- Kree
- Adriana
- Really nervous
- Tenna
- Brandy
- Tamaria
- Enjoy our nice parting gifts:
- Jenny Beth
- Shubha
K, let’s have ’em…
In are Angela, Amber, Kree, Adriana and Tenna.
Jenny Beth and Shubha are barely old enough to drive, so hopefully getting cut now means that they can come back. Isabelle was probably the last cut, and the look on her face as she left indicated that she expected to make it through. Tamaria laid an egg at the wrong time, and Brandy isn’t talented enough to compete at this level. Adriana and Tenna made it through, good for them, but I expect both of them to get dumped in the semifinals. This week’s performance and survival were their Idol overachievements, and they should be proud of themselves.
Tomorrow night, the first round of men. Seeya then.
