Thursday, November 24, 2011

X Factor US: Top 9

I guess, the theme tonight was, umm, bad singing? Seriously. This episode was an absolute trainwreck and without a doubt, an entirely new low for reality programming: horrible singing and pimping personal tragedy. WTF!

Bring back American Idol, this show SUCKS! I'll give it until Top 7 and if things doesn't improve, I'll ditch this show. Sorry! Haha.

On with the review!

DISCLAIMER: I am no expert, but this is my opinion - to each his own - and yours will be in the comments below! Haha.  

09. Chris Rene
Let It Be
Chris, to me, has an inspiring story and, yes, I'll just leave it at that.. Haha. 3/10

08. Lakoda Rayne
You Belong With Me
Really? A Taylor Swift song? I have nothing against Taylor Swift, but her songs have zero range and little melody to actually show off one's vocal talent - more so, a group! Heck, they didn't even sound that good. Their vocals were rough around the edges, the harmonies were still bad and Paige's tone didn't blend well with the rest of the group for some reason. I don't know. This just didn't work for me. 4.5/10

07. Astro
Show Me What You Got
Astro has a lot of raw talent and he's possibly one of the more marketable acts on the show, however, his annoying behavior from last week threw me off a bit. Yes, that shouldn't affect how I view his performances after that meltdown, but can you really blame me? I just don't think I'm interested with someone who's not grateful with the opportunities he was given. To be fair, his delivery was passionate and relatively energetic, but again, I just didn't care. Of course, this is not all about the personality, but I don't think it's about the singing ability as well. So... 5/10

06. Marcus Canty
A Song For Mama
While I found Marcus' performance to be genuinely heartfelt, his vocals were too uneven. His lower register was a little wobbly and then he went slightly off pitch when he tried to hit those high notes. I wasn't sure if it was because he was getting a little emotional during the performance, but this was his weakest vocal performance to date. 5.5/10

05. Drew
Skyscraper
.. and I thought Drew was going to win X Factor US in a cakewalk. Sadly, I don't think that's the case now. I admit, this performance was a bit better compared to last week and somehow I appreciated the fact that she took some risks in her vocals, but I didn't think it was totally successful. How she tackled the verses were sensational, but when she hits the chorus and started to belt out, things just went strange for me. Then, the weird arrangement came in and she just lost me. Now, as for L.A. Reid, STFU! Demi Lovato is 19 and this song was released this year, you idiot! Why are you working in the music industry when you don't even know your stuff!! Ugh. 7/10

04. Rachel Crow 
Believe
I kind of liked this performance. Vocally, it wasn't perfect especially when the band kicked in and annoyingly overpowered her vocals, but she had enough charisma to pull this performance off. She showed great vocal range and I thought her stage presence improved a lot. 7/10

03. Melanie Amaro
The World's Greatest
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT? Did Melanie just lost her mind? Haha. Up until all that CRAZY speech at the end, I thought Melanie sounded great. She got a tad screechy and slightly flat towards the end, but as usual she was able to deliver another good vocal performance. However, I'm beginning to think that she has no place in the world of pop music, but could make it as a Christian Contemporary artist perhaps? 7.5/10

02. Leroy Bell
Angel
Arguably, this was Leroy's best live performance to date. His tone worked well with the material, his connection to the song was palpable and I thought his vocals were quite good - even brilliant in some parts. I guess, the fact that he allowed his emotions to take over made this performance a lot better compared to the others. I could've done it without the choir, but whatever. 7.5/10

01. Josh Krajcik
Wild Horses
Wow! Who knew Josh could actually win this whole freakin' thing? I NEVER considered him as a frontrunner, but after two strong performances - and yes, he's possibly the most consistent in the bunch, though I never really liked him - this might just be the case. I thought he sang it well and while his strained vocal style wasn't entirely my thing, the way he showcased his range from being vulnerable to his usual booming voice was quite impressive. Not sure if I'll buy his album, but we'll see.. 8/10

ELIMINATION PREDICTION
Later is a double elimination, and while I don't really care who gets eliminated, I have a feeling that it's going to be between Lakoda Rayne, Astro and Leroy Bell. Chris Rene could actually be a potential "shocker" considering how the show pimped him prior to the live show.

8 comments:

X said...

I'll start off answering your question "Who knew Josh could actually win this whole freakin' thing?" And the answer is... me!
The dudes been great since the very beginning.

And two weeks in a row, I actually agree with you on the best of the night (being Josh). I also agree with you that LA Reid is a jackwad that has shown consistently that he has no business being a judge on this show (or any other for that matter). He keeps going off on other contestants and praising his 3 guys, when his 3 guys are probably the worst of the bunch.

That being said, that's about all I agree with you on. Here's the order I put them in:

9. Chris Rene - I think he's getting by purely on his story and "Young Homie"... he's really not that good.
8. Astro - He might have talent (I'm not sure, since I don't like rap), but he's a punk... and after last weeks fiasco, he should be booted.
7. Marcus Canty - vocally all over the place (sounded like emotions got the better of him this week, but I just don't think he's all that good to begin with).
6. Leroy Bell - Unlike you, I think his vocals and style did NOT fit this song at all. I LOVE the song, but like Melanie with last weeks "Everybody Hurts", the song is supposed to be soft-spoken and slower. "Taking it to church", in my opinion, ruins the song.
5. Lakoda Rayne - not their best performance, but I don't think it was nearly as bad as you made it out to be. I think their biggest problem this week was having background singers. A quartet does NOT need and shouldn't have background singers.
4. Rachel Crow - I thought she was good (and she usually is), but not great.
3. Melanie Amaro - thought she was greatly vocally (as usual), I just have a problem connecting to her. I don't know what it is, but there is just something missing and I find it hard to get behind her because of it.
2. Drew - I love Drew voice and style. She's definitely one of my favorites. I think she's great every week, and this week is no exception. Extra point for telling LA Reid to stick it (more or less).
1. Josh Krajcik - not a fan of this song, but he sounded fantastic (as usual). I think (and have though since his audition) that he has what it takes to win this thing.

Who I think should go home: Chris Rene and Astro.

Anonymous said...

don't get Josh appeal at all. he's like Crystal Bowersox, good vocalists but I see them in small venues with a guitar singing to an intimate crowd.

jop said...

YOU'RE TOO NICE WITH LAKODA RAYNE AND MARCUS!!! THEY WERE AWFUL. YUCK

Anonymous said...

I agree with him ^. And by the way, it's not that the show sucks. It's that the contestants suck... American Idol has had seasons like this too.

jop said...

i think he got that one right. the contestants suck, the judges suck, the host sucks, the over the top stage sucks, so in turn the show sucks. american idol is way better than this.

i however think he's too nice to lakoda rayne and marcus and astro too.

Anonymous said...

Drew is an American Ellie Goulding! Why can't Simon see that?? She needs to sing an Ellie Goulding song STAT!

Anonymous said...

I don't get why you are so negative towards X-Factor. You shouldn't bother including it on this blog if you are going to be so negative.

Lakoda Rayne, Rachel Crow, Drew and Melanie Amaro have the potential to become hugely successful acts no matter where they come. Yes Josh is good aswell.

I agree with you that LA Reid is a tool who doesn't even know who Demi Lovato and Christina Aguilera are obviously (guess he hasn't worked with them).

I don't know why I bother writing this because I know I will just get a lot of crap from responses but whatever. The show doesn't suck, the contestants don't suck. I think it's the public voting that suck. If it was worldwide voting would it be the same outcome. I doubt it...

Anonymous said...

^^ I don't get why your so positive towards the show. The people you mentioned have potential to be successful but you can say that to MOST American Idol contestants and only 3, 4 can be argued, went on to become successful.

The contestants suck! And return here after a year and let's see if anyone of them becomes successful.

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