Adam Lambert is to overrated, as Syesha Mercado is to underrated. Seriously. I hated how she would perform so great and show so much personality and then the judges would just rip her to shreds. They threw Syesha under the bus so many times she became part of the wheel.
To be honest, my initial thoughts of Syesha going into the top 24 was that she was very talented, but very generic. Been there, done that to the nth degree. I wanted her to do well - maybe make it to the Top 10 or so, but I saw myself being quite bored with her. Luckily, she proved me VERY wrong.
I'm not going to say that Syesha is someone who's very original or anything - because she's not - but she definitely grabbed my attention at the start of the semifinals. I thought she showed off some made vocal skills with Tobacco Road and that definitely wasn't a predictable song choice. The very next week she showed a beautiful restraint with the VERY underrated Me and Mr. Jones. Her version of Whitney's Saving All My Love For You was pretty darn good as well. Needless to say, Syesha jumped into my Top 6 going into the Top 12.Now, it seems that most people think that Syesha didn't find herself in the competition until the Top 6 where she performed One Rock N' Roll Too Many, but I think that's a bit ridiculous. I mean, if I had to pick the week where she really started gaining momentum, it was at Top 11 - with the vocally flawless If I Were Your Woman - and basically every single performance after that was top notch. It really pissed me to see Syesha deliver some outstanding vocal performances and get torn apart by the judges right afterwards. It was quite baffling. Clearly, she is one of the most underrated Idol finalist EVER.
But, truth be told, Syesha was born to do Broadway! So, it came as no surprise to me when she knocked Andrew Lloyd Webber week out of the park. Actually, I love that she is the only contestant that has been on the show that has really embraced the Broadway genre and brought it to the viewers weekly. Sure, contestants like Melinda Doolittle or, say, LaToya London sang plenty of Broadway song, but they just sang them. Syesha, on the other hand, brought a different flare to her performances that oozed the personality one might see on a Broadway show - performances like One Rock and Roll Too Many, Thank The Lord for the Night Time, and yes, even Proud Mary.Frankly, before Season 7, I would never expect someone dare to perform these songs like she did. So, in that regards, she definitely brought something new to the competition. But as much as I loved those performances, I loved most of her prior performances just as much. I'd say she was definitely the most consistently good contestant of the season - of course, with another Idol I'll discuss in the next coming days. Ha!
Currently, she's headlining a Broadway show entitled, Dreamgirls. Yes, the movie that catapulted Jennifer Hudson's career - although Syesha plays the Beyonce role in the Broadway version. I actually heard great reviews with regard to her performance and I'm glad she's getting enough credit for her talent. To me, she deserves a ton of success. Honestly, I know that she will have a hard time getting signed to a major label, and she'll be lucky to even get an indie album out within the next two years, but I'll still cross my fingers and hope that I'm wrong.
Oh, and I would like to share how sad I was when she said in one of her interviews that during Top 3 performance night, she was looking at the audience to find signs with her name on it. She just said "Hey, where are my signs?". Sad.
Favorite performance(s): Part of the reason why Syesha ranked high in this countdown was the simple fact that she really delivered so many great performances during Season 7. My favorite from her would probably be If I Were Your Woman. Yes, I liked Tamyra Gray's version but Syesha took it to another level. By far, one of the most impressive vocal performances of that season. Of course, One Rock N Roll Too Many was a total showstopper. I think she pulled this one out just when she needed it the most because, let's face it, she was expected by many to get the boot that week. Me and Mr. Jones was terribly underrated - shame on you, Simon! - and Proud Mary was possibly one of the sexiest performance EVER. I also have to mention the awesomeness that were Vanishing, Thank The Lord For The Night Time, I Will Always Love You, A Change Is Gonna Come and Yesterday. All of which I really loved.
Check this out!
Gonna Get It - Syesha MercadoIf I Were Your Woman
One Rock N Roll Too Many
Me and Mr. Jones
Proud Mary
Vanishing
#12 - Crybaby!
2 comments:
I'm glad Syesha ranked this high. :)
Carson: Yes. I love Syesha! :)
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