Tonight was indeed the Twilight Zone episode!
I mean, the people who I thought will deliver good performances were lackluster and those who I wanted to suck were surprisingly good. Geez.
Just when I thought this season will be as predictable as Carrie Underwood winning the whole thing in Season 4, things got really interesting tonight. I don't know.
But the thing that surprised me the most tonight was that I have a new found respect for Shania Twain, her song writing and vocal abilities. Really. I have always liked her - even though I was NEVER really a big country fan - and saw just how well crafted, clever and nuanced her songs really were through the performances.
Anyway, here we go!
It Only Hurts When I'm Breathing
Big Mike began his performance sitting on the steps and somehow I felt he stopped the stairs from moving!! Haha. Ok. Enough with the jokes. To be perfectly honest, I thought he did very well tonight. His performance was sweet, emotional and his vocals - save for some shaky falsetto - were good. However, I've been so turned off by his arrogant behavior at times that I'm now having a hard time believing his performances. Not sure if he was faking all the sentimentality - maybe not - but I just don't care about him anymore. Michael also has reached his ceiling and we all know it. It’s only a matter of time before he has to bow out of this competition and go on to make whatever he wants to make. Haha. Oh, and the cheese.. I drowned in it. Haha.
No One Needs To Know
Ok. Now this feels weird. After Crystal sang, I just sat on my bed and stared. I looked around the room to see if someone was playing a trick on me then I realized that my siblings were still sleeping that time. So, it wasn’t a joke. Surprise! Surprise! Haha. This week, Crystal was underwhelming! I was actually shocked by how unauthentic Crystal's performance came across. Who would've thought? Sure, she sounded great and her falsetto was very impressive but the performance lacked as much swagger as the original. I don't know. I thought the female harmony singer sounded tentative, which somehow threw off the arrangement a little bit and it just didn't seem to go anywhere. I appreciate that she stuck with the theme better than anyone else though. Oh, and note to Ryan: There is a time and a place to comment on teeth. An interview with Crystal Bowersox is not that time or place. Haha.
You're Still The One
Somehow, it sounded like Lee was trying to pull a David Cook Always Be My Baby moment, but failed. Haha. Don't even go there Lee! I mean, I liked his arrangement of the song and he played a little with the melody to suit his range and style but I found his vocals to be a bit shakier and forced than usual. There were parts where the melody seemed way off - although I thought it was more an issue of his interpretation than his pitch. Ultimately, the performance wasn't bad but it could've been better considering he had a great song to work with.
Any Man Of Mine
I'm confused! The judges criticized her for When You Believe and Suspicious Minds, but this performance got her unanimously praised? Seriously. Don't get me wrong, I thought she did really well this week but her vocal performances the past few weeks were so much worthy of good reviews, which she obviously didn't get. But yes, Siobhan was totally back to her sassy self again! To me, this was the most energetic performance of the night. It was really great to see her do something fun for a change and really interact with the crowd. The rhythm of the song was a bit bizarre but her endearing awkward delivery almost made up for it. The moments at the end of the performance were absolutely perfect to close out the evening and we better hope that Siobhan makes this the beginning of a comeback and not a fluke. Now, this dark horse still has a chance.
You've Got A Way
WTF! How is this possible? Haha. I can't believe that I actually liked Aaron's performance tonight and ranked him this high. Well, maybe because he managed to deliver exactly what I’ve been waiting for all season from him. I thought his tone was beautiful with the song and his voice had character. It wasn't perfect vocally but he sure has a nice upper register. Sure, this week was pretty much in his wheelhouse, but he also managed to perform the song in a very mature way I wasn’t aware he possessed. I really felt that he was tugging at the heartstrings. Finally! Good job Aaron!
Don't!
The rollercoaster ride continues. Haha. Casey just gave me a reason to like him again! Haha. Frack. I actually loved it. To be fair, I never doubted his talent, it was just that he never showed any charisma until now. This, to me, was the most believable and authentic performance of the night. I was actually glad that he just sat on a stool, played his guitar and sang his heart out. Maybe a little more emotion and a tiny more grit in his voice will make this performance THE moment for him. But what the heck! It was awesome. This was much closer to Jealous Guy than Don't Stop, quality-wise. It did show off more of his voice - including the tiniest bit of falsetto - and it was the first time, I thought, where he sounded it could go straight to radio. I was fairly impressed.
14 comments:
ay. disappointed that casey came in #1. haha sad for crystal. hope big mike will go home tomorrow. haha oh my, it might be crystal! :-o
no glee news yet?
Glee is coming right up! :) My sisters just used the laptop so I was unable to work on it. Haha.
Hurray for Casey! Seriously, I like his voice.
And crystal was good naman ah. Even better than Lee and Siobhan.
J
You know what Jake. I really had a hard time doing the rankings this week. I wanted to rank Crystal higher than Lee but not Siobhan but I couldn't. I don't know. Heck, my first draft looked like this:
1. Casey
2. Aaron
3. Siobhan
4. Crystal
5. Michael
6. Lee
Mine would be
Casey
Crystal
Lee
Siobhan ( I like it that she's back. Like her quirky self's back. But the vocals! I'm just not impressed by it anymore.)
With Mike and Aaron, I dunno. I didn't bother watching their parts. Sa youtube lang ako eh. Haha.
Siobhan's vocals are almost always faultless. better compared to Lee and even Casey. Haha.
Whuuuut? Haha. I thought that too. Then i reviewed her videos and she's bad with her low notes. Quality-wise.
True, her lower register sounds a bit moany and quite nasally. Maybe because of her enunciation. I don't know. But I really like her singing, most of the time. Haha.
i thought they all sang really well tonight. im a very big fan of crystal, but i think she's my number 6. im not a fan of big mike, but he's my number one for this night in particular. casey's not only hot, but he can really bring it!! dont care much for siobhan, i just always look forward to what she's gonna wear! haha. aaron did it pretty good too. as for lee, he's just really great.
it would be really hard to see any one of them leave tonight. :( im getting frustrated actually. i want them all to stay! lol.
thanks for this comment.
anyway, just the fact that people vary in their rankings are an indication that everyone did deliver solid performances last night. very interesting.
"True, her lower register sounds a bit moany and quite nasally"
According to the vocal coach at the masterclasslady web site, Siobhan "has a lot of head voice in her natural vocal timbre – similar to Barbra Streisand – and sometimes people mistake this for nasal tone".
Here's the link where they talk in detail about Siobhan's voice quality. I think you might find it very interesting.
http://masterclasslady.com/2010/04/07/american-idol-season-9-top-9-vocal-masterclass-article-the-lennon-mccartney-songbook/#comments
interesting. thanks for this! :) it's a nice read.
but don't get me wrong, i think Siobhan's voice is gorgeous. :)
I had no doubt that you’re a Siobhan fan. I concur with you that Siobhan's vocals are almost always faultless. This is especially evident in her studio recordings.
I’m glad you enjoyed masterclasslady. I tend to visit a lot of blogs to get a sense of what the general public feelings are after a performance. But I then go to masterclasslady to get a more in-depth technical analyst from a professional.
Have you been following the stories about Siobhan’s Facebook fan site mistakenly posting Aaron’s voting number, there by possibly resulting in Aaron receiving a lot of votes intended for Siobhan?
I'm a Siobhan fan since Wicked Game. Heck even when I saw a little snippet of Living In A City. I thought I should watch that girl. Haha. Indeed, she was a real talent. I wanted her or Didi or Alex Lambert to win. But none of them are in the competition. Haha. Too bad.
I think I've been following her Facebook fansite for a while now. I didn't know there was that incident about different number posting though. That's sad if it's true. :(
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