American Idol Semis-Week 1-The Girls
The top 12 girls hit the stage tonight. They'll sing, we'll vote and in three weeks we'll be down to six. And sometime in 2009 we'll crown a new American Idol ;-)
It's time for some old familiar places as the girls get ready to perform in the round while the guys sit in the wings, er, the Dawghouse (ugh, couldn't that tired thing die off?). Paula looks kind of old, Ryan looks like a doofus and Simon is clad in his customary black. All's right in the world. Here we go.
Mandisa: comes out in a red satin lingerie top and jacket. And friggin' short pants. HATE the short pants. Mandisa is a strikingly beautiful woman from the neck up. She does kind of remind me of the dark-haired Wilson sister from Heart, whose "Never" she'll sing tonight. Mandisa is strong in the chorus and does the "shouty" parts well, but she's weak in the verses. She can belt with the best of them, but I don't know that she can really interpret a song.
Randy: showed lots of personality, but a bit sharp at times
Paula: magnificent, singing Heart is a big challenge
Simon: bad in the middle of the song, but your personality will carry you through to the finals
Kris: I agree with Simon. I give the performance a 7.
Kellie: acts like a dumb hick. I think she's kind of big 'ole faker. I just don't like the girl. She's singing "How Far" by Martina McBride for her jailbird Daddy. Kellie is very weak in her lower register and hits some very ugly notes along the way.
Randy: not very enthusiastic and didn't hit the high notes
Paula: unpretentious, but bad on the verses (WTF? Paula is making constructive comments??)
Simon: likeable, sincere, has the potential to have a good voice.
Kris: notice how they didn't really comment on her voice? There's a reason why. It sucked. I give her a 3.
Becky: sings "Because The Night" and makes some weird winking faces the entire time. She needs to look in the mirror when she's practicing or something. It's very distracting. Of course, maybe that's her evil plan so we don't notice how bad her voice is. She just doesn't have a very melodic voice, although she could easily be the hot lead singer of a punky band.
Randy: loved it, but admits she doesn't have the best voice. In other words, Randy thinks she's hot.
Paula: she has "pixie dust" and so it doesn't matter that the notes were off. Huh?
Simon: didn't expect much but she's hot. Overall, her voice probably isn't good enough.
Kris: she's a beautiful girl, but this is a singing contest, not a pageant. I give it a 1.
Ayla: is the resident jock. The basketball player is set to sing "Reflections" from the Mulan soundtrack. I'm not a fan of Ayla, but then she starts to sing and something happens. I respond very well to her broadway rendition. She's Broadway Ayla to me and I like it. I don't know why, but I do.
Randy: like me, he's pleasantly surprised
Paula: an ambitious choice, but she "made it her own" (aw, there's the Paula we know and love!)
Simon: pushed the limits of her voice and showed some emotion
Kris: I agree with Simon, she was a little softer and feminine tonight and that really added something to her performance. I give it a 7.
Paris: will sing "Midnight Train to Georgia". She's as cute as a button in an adorable little denim outfit. Paris is almost too much of a performer. She's got a great voice but she reminds too much of Fantasia tonight with the bouncing around and the "yeah yeah yeahs". God, I hated Fantasia.
Randy: blown away
Paula: a little firecracker
Simon: so confident and didn't play it safe
Kris: despite my other criticisms, there's something about Paris that makes me not want the song to end. I give her a 9.
Stevie: is going to sing Josh Grabin's "To Where You Are". She goes in and out of a falsetto and is all quiet and weak. She's got a decent range but she's so damn breathy.
Randy: different, but boring
Paula: ethereal and intimate
Simon: like being at Sunday lunch and suddenly a child stands up and starts singing badly.
Kris: heh, Simon is exactly right. Stevie is just weird and doesn't make up for it with exceptional talent. I give it a 2.
Brenna's: intro reel reveals a sweeter side to the sassy diva. She loves her Mommy. Awwww. Brenna sings Stevie Wonder's "You Are The Sunshine Of My Life" for her mom. This arrangement is way too slow and Brenna is way too busy trying to perform. When she just forgets about that, however, you can see that underneath it all her voice is good. It's just hiding.
Randy: she got out of her box. get back in the box and deliver your songs with attitude.
Paula: revealed a sensitive side
Simon: likes her sass but not this tame peformance
Kris: I'd rather she concentrate on singing rather than being sassy. I give this performance a 5, but her post-critique diva tantrum shows that she'll go back to being a brat with an okay voice instead of trying to be more than just a character. It's too bad because I think she has potential.
Heather: insists on torturing me by singing "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" from last season. NO!!!! Anyway, when Heather isn't getting lost in the parts of the song, she's okay. She has a nice country flavor to her voice without the annoying twang of Pickler.
Randy: boring
Paula: started rough
Simon: forgettable, played it safe
Kris: I hate the song but I kind of liked her performance. A 5.
Melissa: sings "When The Lights Go Down" by Faith Hill. Apparently this is some well known song, but I've never heard it before. To me, it's just another ballad. I don't feel any energy in this performance, it's shouting masquerading as power and energy.
Randy: rocky but she worked it out
Paula: a shining moment. she's got a sexy and sultry voice
Simon: she's lifeless while she sings
Kris: I totally agree with Simon, when she sings there's nothing in her eyes. After she's done, she reveals that she has a very appealing personality. She's okay, but she needs to bring that personality into her performances. For now, she gets a 5.
Lisa: the 16-year old phenom comes out to sing Jennifer Holiday's "I Am Changing". Lisa has got a knockout voice, but she's so damn professional and poised. There's no sense of fun with Lisa. She's too young to be so serious.
Randy: impressed
Paula: a precious little gift that lights a fire inside my heart (Paula's drinking during the breaks, isn't she?)
Simon: made some of the others look ordinary
Kris: An 8, but I want to see a different side to her.
Kinnik: comes across as very articulate in her interview. She sings "Get Here" and has some seriously bad notes at the beginning. She does get better and knows how to sing with emotion.
Randy: nice ending. a 6
Paula: powerful, but had some sharp notes
Simon: she's old and there are younger girls who are much better
Kris: she's seems like a lovely woman, but nothing about her is exciting. A solid 5.
Katharine: sings Barbra Streisand's "Since I Fell For You". Oh wow. I almost get a shiver when she starts. She's got a nice, bluesy feel and she's so connected to the music.
Randy: love her
Paula: greatness
Simon: the best of the night
Kris: I wanna vote for her! A 9.
My rankings this evening:
1. Katharine
2. Paris
3. Lisa
4. Ayla
5. Mandisa
6. Brenna
7. Melissa
8. Kinnik
9. Heather
10. Pickler
11. Stevie
12. Becky
I predict that Stevie and Heather will be shown the door on Thursday.
Posted by kris at February 21, 2006 09:01 PM
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Comments
| # February 21st, 2006 9:09 PM BVBigBro |
| Becky was worst. I don't think Stevie will leave. She will be saved by the fact eight of the contestants chose to sing the song Bland, by Blandy Bland and the Blands. Paris is grossly overrated. Her singing was average, the bouncing is irritating, and the performance didn't at all match the song and what it's about. Ayla and Katharine were best. |
| # February 21st, 2006 10:18 PM Squibbly |
| My top 5 looks pretty similar to Kris's. Katharine was awesome, I really enjoyed Paris's performance as well. Performing seemed to come pretty natural to her. Mandisa and Lisa seemed pretty even to me and then Ayla. As for those other WEAK singers. I can't wait until some of them are gone. Becky may be hot but she CAN'T sing at ALL! Pickler needs to go too. But Brenna drives me nuts. The sooner she goes the better.
Ayla is such a jock too. I thought it was pretty hilarious how at the end when they all started dancing around, Ayla was just standing there clapping. That is probably what I would be doing! |
| # February 21st, 2006 11:30 PM themandownthehall |
| Ok, someone has to stand in the fire for poor Kellie, I guess I'll have to do it. I can think of at least 6 singers that sucked worse than her tonight. Becky, Stevie, Brenna, Heather, Melissa and possibly Kinnik. It's a tossup between them. Granted the perpetual tears are getting old and yeah "Pick Pickler" sounded a little high school, but, her singing wasn't that bad and if she gets another shot, she'll bring it. She should make the final 6 girls, but not much further than that. I think the girls will come down to Katherine, Lisa and Mandissa. Paris is real good, but there is always that surprise "Go home" and I think that it has Paris' name on it. Becky will be interesting. She has that Maxim magazine spread with her sister in her favor. It'll be interesting how far the hotness factor can take her.
Until tomorrow! |
| # February 22nd, 2006 9:48 AM jagorham |
| Just some quickies:
Mandissa - missed her singing last night (was on the phone, just had closed caption on), though I saw the snippet on the recap. Not bad, middle of the pack for now. Kellie the P - she's starting to annoy, and not because of her backstory but because she seems to be unable to handle the pressure of being on stage. If it persists more than another week, look to see her gone sooner than later, looks and history notwithstanding. Becky - *ANY* Springsteen song is a poor choice to show one's vocal range. (If you don't believe me, pick out the melody on a piano - your hand doesn't have to move from side to side.) Paris - definitely showing her pedigree on this song. Very much the showman, and knows where the red light on the camera is about as well as Constantine last year. Very strong performance. Stevie - gone either this week or next. Too "out there," and this song came out as too ethereal (read: wimpy). Brenna - again, bad song selection. I like the song, but the AI producers need to put a once-per-season limit on it (including what's shown on auditions). Maybe better next week. Her attitude is grating, though, when it comes out. The rest of the latter singers - kind of a blur. After 90 minutes, it kind of ran together. No standouts there. (Well, except for Melissa M.'s standout pair. I stand corrected, Kris.) |
| # February 22nd, 2006 2:49 PM kris |
| AHA! I knew I was right about Melissa'a assets |
| # February 22nd, 2006 3:38 PM james |
| no, youre not |
| # February 22nd, 2006 6:27 PM Daddy |
| Mannequin. |
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