Thursday, April 25, 2013

American Idol 12: Top 4

Top 4 night is where I exploded in disbelief and rage. Haha. Indeed, I've seen almost all American Idol episodes, but this has to be the biggest clusterf*ck of all. Really. I can tell when the deck is getting stacked and the judges couldn't be anymore subtle as to who they really want to move forward for another week on this show. I'd say poor Kree and Candice.

Oh, and One Hit Wonders as a theme sounded like a total home run on paper, but it then turned out to be the most underutilized theme of all time. Of all time! Sad. Anyway, I don't want to rant anymore. I'm tired. Haha.

On with the show!

ROUND 1: OPEN THEME

04. Kree Harrison
It Hurts So Bad
I really feel like Kree has completely flat lined the last two weeks. Yes, her vocals were mostly on point and she ended the performance quite strong, but she seemed emotionally in and out throughout the whole number. One point she'd look intense and then suddenly broke out with a smile. Hey Kree, connect! 6.5/10

03. Amber Holcomb
Power Of Love
Ok. While I didn't think this was one of Amber's finest moments and the fact that I seriously hated the song choice, the stripped down arrangement of the first verse was actually beautiful and exactly what she needed to do with this treacly song to make it work. It was still dated for my liking though and didn't deserve all the pimping it got from the judges. How exactly did she give her interpretation flavor when she sang it exactly how it was originally sung and has been sung ever since? 7/10

02. Candice Glover
Find Your Love
This Drake song was beautiful in it's simplicity and the way Candice took that away and made the melody practically absent was a letdown. That said, I give Candice credit for being creative with her song choice backed with, yet again, another strong vocal performance. It didn't reach Kris Allen's Heartless level of epicness, but I liked how she took a risk and presented herself as a more current artist. Admittedly, I was ridiculously annoyed when none of the judges even gave her credit for that, but gave Amber a standing ovation for a good karaoke performance of a awfully overdone ballad song. 8/10

01. Angie Miller
Who You Are
It was around this week last season when Phillip Phillips went from being middle of the road blah for me to slowly growing on me until I was genuinely fine with him winning the show. I personally think Angie is that contestant this year. Her vocals on Who You Are wasn't perfect - she sounded a little breathless in parts - but there's a certain believability and connection with the song that was palpable here. Powerful and emotional. 9/10

ROUND 2: ONE HIT WONDERS

04. Amber Holcomb
MacArthur Park
Let me quote Michael Slezak on this, "HOW IS MACARTHUR PARK CURRENT?????" Haha. I completely have nothing against Amber, but this is becoming nauseating. Seriously. This, to me, was Amber's weakest performance to date and the least deserved standing ovation on American Idol history - and yes, it includes DeAndre's and Heejun's. Her diction was bad, her pitch was all over the place, and there's no sense of musicality or creativity in this performance. Heck, I liked Carrie Underwood's version better than this and I hated her performance 8 years ago. Haha. 5/10

03. Candice Glover
Emotions
Plus, I think that Amber has a time machine as a closet. I bet the judges will say that disco is back because of th.. Oops. Should I start writing for Candice now because, you know, Nicki Minaj unbelievably took Candice time and continued talking about Amber!!!!  Jesus Christ. Bring back, Amber. Show how beautiful she is and her legs and also bring Rihanna and compare each other. Poor Candice. True, I felt like Candice sort of cheated the theme, but there's no denying that she sounded strong on this song. Her vocal inflections were nice and her interpretation was good. I would've liked it if she did something more unpredictable, but this was fine. 7/10

02. Kree Harrison
Whiter Shade of Pale
Some may see this performance as a total snoozer, but I somehow gravitated well with the song. She connected with the song relatively well, her vocals were mostly on point, and this, to me, was a good song choice for her. It's not at par with her more emotional take on Up To The Mountain, but it's a slight step to the right direction, I guess. 7/10

01. Angie Miller
Cry Me A River
Not too crazy about Angie's performance of Cry Me A River as I felt like all we needed to complete this was a tiara, sash, and roses, and we're good to crown her as the next Ms. American Idol. However, I must say that her vocals were actually pretty solid and despite her dramatic facial expressions, she sold the song very well. One Hit Wonders theme produced mostly underwhelming performances, but this one was probably the most compelling. 7.5/10

INTERMISSION: DUET

02. Candice Glover and Angie Miller
Stay
If there ever was something called an on-pitch trainwreck, this was it! Haha. Seriously. Rihanna's Stay was a lovely ballad mostly because of it's simple melody, and this duet sounded like a battle more than anything else. Angie tried WAY too hard to keep pace with Candice, which made her sound like she was screaming and Candice sounded shot in some parts. I don't know. 5/10

01. Amber Holcomb and Kree Harrison
Rumor Has It
Nicki, could you shout even louder? Gawd. I feel bad for Kree. Good gracious. This duet was less cringe-worthy than the other one, but personally, I thought Kree sounded better than Amber on this and yet they bussed her. Sad. 6.5/10


PREDICTION

Who should go? 
Amber Holcomb

Who will go?
No one

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

no standing O for Candice's Find Ur Love? Definitely scripted! And poor Kree..she seems defeated.

And i have no words on the second theme, total snooooooozefest except for Kree's performance.

K

Anonymous said...

Boring Season.. The contestant's talent is not enough!!!

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