Idol 78 - Von Smith

78. Von Smith

Season 8, Top 36

Yes, the boy who I thought could actually rival Adam Lambert during that season with all the screaming. Haha.

Seriously. After Von Smith's audition, he was probably destined to become a front-runner for Season 8's Love Him or Hate Him Contestant.

Sure, he got a powerful instrument but his problem was that his rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow left me uncertain if he knew what to do with it. He was like blasting every last note from his mouth like he was aiming cannonballs at a brick wall. If I'd compare it to Jason Castro's hauntingly beautiful - and at times, practically whispered - version of the song, well, there's no comparison actually. Haha.

And then Hollywood happened and I hated him more. His rendition of If The Rain Must Fall by James Morrison was indeed, as Simon said, a totally indulgent nonsense. He was literally screaming at us - the viewers! Ha.

Now, when the new Top 36 format was introduced during that season, I was positive that I will hate him even more. But for some odd reason, I loved his first live performance. I was shocked as his performance of You're All I Need To Get By was actually good. I expected to hate it, but I was pleasantly surprised. I was really glad he toned it down. And although his lower register was a bit wobbly, he has a very nice modulated voice - and performance for that matter. If I'm being honest, I was somehow expecting him to enter the Final 12. But he didn't.

Good thing, he was given another chance to perform during the Wildcard round. But just when Von Smith was starting to grow on me - with his adorable cartoon-character hair, and his humble admission that, yes, he sometimes shouts at his audience - he suddenly went out and gave a totally restrained take on Elton John's Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word, but promptly experienced all kinds of pitch problems. Such a shame.

Overall, my relationship with him was hit and miss though I would admit that his Idol run was pretty good - something I never expected. One thing's for sure, I prefer him than Scott McIntyre and Jorge Nunez.

Favorite Performance(s): I really enjoyed his very first performance,  You're All I Need To Get By. As I've said it was surprisingly good. Good modulation with not so much screaming going on.

You're All I Need To Get By

#77 - Could pass as a rapper's name! Ha