So, it’s a big week! Who will falter? Who will prosper? Who will get lazy? Who will remain irrelevant? Who will pick a ridiculous song choice? Who will pick a song older than Allen, KZ and Gabriel?
Traditionally - at least, with American Idol - I spend the week before the Finale analyzing the contestants in-depth. I like to note their strengths and weaknesses considering one of them will be the winner of X Factor in one week.
Here goes nothing! Dim the lights. Cue the music. It’s time to look at the performances.
DISCLAIMER: I am no expert, but this is my opinion - to each his own - and yours will be in the comments below! Haha.
04. Daddy's Home
Open ArmsLook, I won't dispute the facts. Daddy's Home is a ballad killer. Any song that is even remotely slow enough for a person to sway with or wag their lighters at will be a big win for the group. But, there is the other side. Unlike Allen, KZ and Gabriel, the group will need to be able to manipulate different types of music to be even considered relevant. Would they really be marketable? Because from what I’ve seen, looking back at their performance over the past few weeks, they have a very clear limitations as an artist. They need to be something other than "a brilliant group of singers". There’s more to this competition than most know. 5/10
03. Allen Sta. Maria
Whip My HairAllen started the night with Whip My Hair, which seemed to have a hell of a lot of energy behind it. It was peppy, sassy, and was a decent performance. The thing about her is that she really knows who she wants to be as a performer and she is having a blast showing that to everyone. However, I felt like it was a very one-dimensional performance with an array of maybe four notes in this Willow Smith tune. It's not a strong song choice to make a lasting impression. Plus, there were some weird low notes that just clearly had no support whatsoever, the key was weird and the truncated song was even weirder. 6/10
02. KZ Tandingan
ForeverShe looked confident, cool, collected and ready to hit the finals. I’ll give KZ points for taking a risk and showing a little more diversity, but she needs to move away from that type of music very quickly. While I did enjoy the rap breakdown, Forever just didn't fit right with her tone and phrasing choices. Probably a mid tempo more urban sound would've been a better choice than a Chris Brown dance song. I felt like she was continuously adjusting with the strange tempo and arrangement of the song from start to finish while maintaining maybe ten percent of the necessary breath support she would need to keep her vocals powerful and on pitch. Still, there were some nice moments throughout the song that really showcased the fact that she is the one to beat at this point. I was just a little underwhelmed. Oh, and was Chris Brown really her music hero? Seriously? 7/10
01. Gabriel Maturan
BoyfriendWhat a pleasant surprise! The reason Gabriel ranked so well with me tonight was because I genuinely didn't know he had this in him. I'm clearly aware of Allen's swagger, I heard KZ rap during her auditions and Daddy's Home puts me to sleep, but watching Gabriel pull off some incredible dynamics from the soft talk/sing bit at the beginning to his transitions from chest voice to falsetto shocked me. His vocals weren't perfect especially when he tried to hit some of his high notes and there were weird looks and awkward dance moves that seemed to jar me, but it's a noble effort from someone who barely changes his vocal dynamics and stage performance. To me, he has nailed his strengths and he hasn’t been this confident in weeks. Very nice. 7.5/10
5 comments:
Daddy's Home has been the most consistent in song choice throughout this whole competition. They do not need to try singing different types of music to succeed. I don't understand why the contestants need to change their style each week to please the fans. It comes off as not having a musical identity.
Anonymous: Musical identity doesn't mean sticking with the same drab ballads every single week. Yes, that makes them consistent, but versatility is just as important. Why do you think artists keep on reinventing themselves?
Look at KZ, Allen and Gabriel, they all changed their styles this week and yet, their musical identity are surprisingly intact. Do you get my point?
I love Allen so I was heartbroken after seeing her leave the competition. I firmly believe in what you're saying that KZ, Gab and Allen are the most versatile. It just hurts because this is more of a popularity contest rather than a talent show. The only good thing that happened here is they had a platform to showcase their gift. For me, Allen will go a long way because she have the X Factor. She's still young, highly trainable, versatile, cute and extremely talented. With more polishing of her diction and good choices of songs, she'll be an expected star. I just wish that the ABS CBN management will take good care of these talents because they are rare. I don't know but I'm seeing the winner of PGT's last season in Daddy's Home. KZ is also a rare talent and I don't doubt her but with Gab, I think he has to reinvent himself in a more unimaginable way because he lacks the vocal powers and looks to stay long in this industry. I can see Gerald Santos of Pinoy Pop Superstar in him and he's nowhere now. Thanks for your blog.
DAM: I see your point. Daddy's Home needs to take risks within their own genre such as taking a pop or rock song and making it their own. The others have taken risks and at times, are successful. I'm actually a fan of KZ but this week, her song choice did not fit her musical identity at all.
I wish that in general these artists stop trying every style in American music, even though they do sing a few Filipino songs. As a Filipino American, I'd rather see talents that try to create a Filipino musical identity than singing American music or, in other shows, dancing to K-Pop. We are a people of different influences, but I just wish that OPM would be celebrated more than popular genres from other countries.
Dam, I couldn't agree more. I think Daddy's Home should've been the act eliminated.
Tbh, I'm disappointed with the Filipino voting bloc. I think a lot of talents left too early in the competition. And I think with more weeks, they could've given an amazing run. Gasp.
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